Zero Hour
by Renaerys
Summary: When a familiar face comes back into her life, Sakura makes a decision that unwittingly unites their causes. She finds herself playing a dangerous game of give and take with a man who makes no promises but always pays his debts. Sequel to Schadenfreude.
1. Phoenix

Zero Hour - Chapter 1: Phoenix  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
Rating: T for some language, violence/gore, and implied adult themes.  
World: Branches off after the Rescue Gaara Arc. Slightly AU but still Narutoverse.

**Author's note: **I know I should be updating IPB right now, but this idea will not leave me alone. Please see the **Story Note **at the end of this chapter for important information about this new fic. Enjoy!

"The phoenix must burn to emerge." - Janet Fitch, _White Oleander_

* * *

Here, atop jagged rocks and splintering wood, listening to the incessant _drip drip drip_ of water—or was that blood? Here, straddling the line between life and death and losing her balance with each _drip drip drip_, is where she found herself.

It wasn't all bad.

At least she had done her job. At least, in the end, she could be useful. Needed.

Worthy.

"Sakura!"

"Chiyo-baa-sama, are you alright? Can you still move?"

It was hard to breathe when every inhalation was agony. The pain reminded her that she still had one foot planted firmly on the side of life, though her balance wavered precariously with every passing second.

"Heh, she's still worrying about others with that wound?"

He was angry. Sakura could make out that much from his tone. He hadn't expected things to drag on this long, for things to fall apart like they had. Sakura had pushed him farther than he'd been pushed in a very long time. She managed to feel some satisfaction at the thought even as he drove the poisoned blade deeper until she felt it fierce through the back of her.

_Drip drip drip._

"If you're a medic nin, then you should understand your own situation."

The sound of his voice was like polished steel—hard, cold, and razor sharp. In the last two hours, Sakura had come to abhor the sound of that voice with every fiber of her being.

"Shut up."

He smiled at her, and for a moment Sakura forgot her anger.

"You're one hell of a girl, but I wonder how long you can last like this?"

_Scree. _The sound of Sasori's katana impaling her further reminded her of the squishy sound jello makes when cut with a spoon. The sword moved through her as fluidly as if she were jello herself.

_Drip drip drip._

Blood from the katana's exit wound trickled down the back of her thigh like warm molasses. There was no way she going to drop dead like this. She was the apprentice of the famed Godaime Hokage, a medical ninja in a league of her own. And damnit, she was _not _done living yet.

Rigorous training and incredible inborn talent worked in tandem to summon soothing green healing energy to the through-body wound as Sakura's chakra tried in vain to reverse the damage. Delerium must have been kicking in now because she could have sworn she saw Sasori's splintered wooden face contort in mild shock.

_Forget him._

"Chiyo-baa-sama, I'm okay," she choked out in between labored breaths. "Hurry...take the antidote—!"

"Sakura..." Chiyo's sad voice reached her ears.

A violent coughing fit wracked her body and she fought to hold it in as pain lanced through her body. Light laughter drifted to her ears and for a split second, Sakura fancied herself back in Konoha with her friends and family.

"It looks like the poison's finally working, since this katana is also poisoned."

_He's right... My body's going numb from the poison. I can't control my chakra anymore, _she thought desperately.

All she wanted to do was sleep.

She barely registered the pin prick in her thigh against the overwhelming pain of her fatal injuries, but with the last of her energy Sakura turned to examine the source of the offending sensation. Unbelievably, Chiyo had stuck her with the last antidote.

"W-why?"

Chiyo collapsed on the dusty ground in a heap and panic surged through Sakura.

"Chiyo-baa-sama..."

Opposite her, Sasori released an exasperated breath, as if he were _inconvenienced_ by Chiyo's noble sacrifice.

That was it. Sakura was going to kill him if it was the last thing she ever did. When he pulled on the katana impaling her, she gripped it with all her remaining might and held fast. Furious green eyes met curious honey ones as they faced off in the most lethal game of tug-of-war.

"I'm not...letting go," Sakura gritted out.

_Drip drip drip._

She didn't flinch as the blade sliced her palms to ribbons. She entertained the thought that some of her strength was returning as the antidote coursed through her system. Behind her, Chiyo attempted to pull herself upright.

"Chiyo-baa-sama!"

_Click._

The unnatural mechanical noise drew her attention and Sakura whipped her head around in time to witness Sasori detach his arm at the elbow, revealing another hidden dagger. He bounded away from her, a sinister grin on his face, before shifting his weight and lunging straight for her.

Shocked, all Sakura could do was watch his maniacal honey eyes as he zeroed in on her. She tried to pull the katana out of her in time to stab him, but he was too fast and she was too far gone.

"Die!"

But the blow never came. After sucking in a few haggard breaths that fueled the fire of her agony, Sakura forced herself to open her eyes fully. Sasori was suspended in midair by his Mother and Father puppets, a look of utter astonishment on his perfectly sculpted face. Two katanas pierced through the canister in his left breast.

"W-what the...?"

He looked between his Mother and Father puppets, and then he finally noticed the ruined state of his chest canister. His manufactured eyes widened in what Sakura would have pegged as fear before deciding it must have been a trick of the light.

"You let your guard down at the last second, Sasori," Chiyo rasped.

"How—" He had to cut himself off as he coughed up sticky black liquid.

"Now you can't move. It's fitting, isn't it? No matter how much of your body is artificial, there must always be a part of you that can use chakra. _That _is your weakness. And the only part missing from your original shell is that canister in your left breast. You must have transferred it to another puppet the moment just before my jutsu was completed. Your puppet bodies are just that—puppets." Chiyo panted heavily and Sasori continued to stare at her in silent shock. "The real you is the canister that holds your chakra."

Sakura had barely heard a word of Chiyo's deduction as she swayed on her feet. Her body bent and sagged to the ground, disturbing the blade inside her and sending fresh waves of pain through her. She barely registered Sasori chuckling humorlessly at Chiyo's words.

"Sakura!"

She felt hot and heavy with otherworldly pain. How could one sword wound be so unbearable?

"Just a little more," Chiyo's voice reached her through the haze of pain.

And then she felt a sense of relief like none she'd ever felt before. The scraping edge of the sword was miraculously gone, replaced by a considerably less piercing ache as Sakura fully sank into the ground, panting heavily.

"You're wasting your time. I stabbed her in a vital organ. Even without the poison, that girl will be dead soon. She lost too much blood already. You're a medic nin too, so you should get that I went for a place that's impossible to heal."

"I've already finished administering medical ninjutsu. The technique I'm using now is something different."

Sakura felt like she was being lifted up on a cloud as the the pain sloughed off her like dirt under the shower.

"I'm sharing my life force with her. It's a reincarnation technique."

"Reincarnation technique?"

"I originally developed it to help you. Only I can use it."

Sakura felt like she was waking up after a fitful alcohol-induced slumber as she blinked bleary eyes and slowly remembered where she was. Somehow, she felt like she was no longer straddling the precarious line between life and death.

"This technique could even bring a puppet to life...at the price of my own life, of course."

Sakura squinted in an effort to focus her vision as she automatically searched for Sasori, the enemy. He was watching Chiyo work with the most uncanny look in his glass eyes, like he was truly listening to her. He probably didn't realize she was watching him because he let his eyes fall and stared unseeing at the split ground.

"What a waste."

His voice was so soft and melancholy that Sakura almost thought she'd imagined it. But when Chiyo smiled sadly, she knew she'd heard right.

Sasori lifted his wooden head and glared that same, bone-chilling glare he'd sported all through their battle. "What a _fucking _waste. When did you go senile, old hag?"

Sakura registered a level of sadness in Chiyo's expression that she'd seen only in Naruto's rare unguarded looks. Her heart felt heavy at the sight of raw human emotion. Somehow, some way, Chiyo still cared about Sasori. He was her family after all, and blood is thicker than water. It made Sakura feel the barest traces of remorse for what she knew she would have to do now that she was no longer in critical condition.

She forced herself to stand.

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"Yes. What about you?"

"Hm? That's strange," Sasori said. "I thought that reincarnation technique could only revive someone if you payed with your life."

"Sakura was critically injured, but she wasn't dead. So I didn't have to give my life to bring her back."

He smiled. "That's a shame."

Sakura could not stand by and listen to this anymore. She didn't care if he insulted her or tried to kill her a hundred times over, but she would not tolerate his total disrespect for the one person in this world who still gave a damn about him after everything he'd done. Chiyo deserved better than that.

Her body seemed to move of its own accord as Sakura closed the distance between Sasori and herself and punched him with all the natural strength she could muster. His cheek splintered under her knuckles, forcing his head to whip 180 degrees to the side with a sickening _crack. _She seethed in the aftermath of her hateful outburst as Sasori's pretty, honey eyes turned to glance at her askance.

"Stop it. This body doesn't feel pain. If you keep hitting me, the only thing you'll hurt is your hand."

The way he said it in that sickeningly mocking tone made her blood boil, like he was _looking out for her_.

He snapped his head back around to give her his full attention and Sakura had to fight the visceral urge to take a step back. Even reduced to splinters, Sasori's gaze seemed to command the forces of gravity. He smirked at her. It reminded her of the way he looked just after she'd decimated his Third Kazekage puppet.

"Women really love doing pointless things, don't they?" The smirk grew wider. "Even if that old hag, my flesh and blood, died right now I'd feel nothing."

Sakura felt the dissipating hatred being to boil up again as she entertained the thought of punching him hard enough to decapitate him.

"She's no better or worse than the hundreds I've killed before her."

Sasori's smirk faded until his face became a blank slate. It registered somewhere in the back of Sakura's mind that he was no longer looking at her, but at the ground, like he wasn't really there.

"Things are much simpler like this."

_Enough._

"You... What the _hell_ do you think a human life is? What family is?"

This got his attention, and honey met jade once more. "Hey, is that really something a shinobi should say?"

Sakura blinked, abashed, but she was undeterred. He had to understand. She would _make _him understand. "Why is that the only way you can see the world!?"

Sasori said nothing to this and for a moment, silence reigned.

"Sakura, enough," Chiyo said.

"But—"

"Sasori is the way he is because of the cruel teachings of the Hidden Sand."

The anger left Sakura like helium escaping a balloon. Unbidden, images of Sasuke, Naruto, even Gaara, drowning in loneliness and pain thrust upon them by the world around them came to her. Her eyes fell. "Chiyo-baa-sama..."

"You want to try having a body like mine?"

Sasori was looking at her with an unreadable expression that shouldn't have made her feel as uneasy as it did. She didn't even question the abrupt change of subject.

"Maybe then you'll get what I'm talking about. A body that never rots, that exists ad infinitum... As a puppet I can repair myself over and over."

His honey eyes bore into hers and Sakura felt more afraid now than she had during the entire course of their fight. The way he was looking at her...

"And if I want company, I just turn more people into puppets...if I think they're worthy. A collection isn't just about quantity; _quality _is just as important."

Sakura didn't think she could bear to stare down that reviling look for much longer. Even immobilized and completely at her mercy, Sasori still pummeled her with razor sharp words that cut deeper than the katana he'd impaled her with previously.

_Monster. Villain. _

"What the hell are you?"

_Nightmare._

"If I had to choose, I guess I'd say I'm a human who couldn't completely become a puppet. I'm an incomplete puppet with a living core. In this body...I'm neither a person nor a puppet."

He seemed to be speaking in riddles, Sakura thought absently. Odd, since throughout their whole fight he'd been blunt and upfront to a fault. It made it that much easier to resent him, but this new manner of speaking threw her off guard.

_So alive in death._

He blinked and all traces of emotion were gone from his eyes.

"This body will be immovable soon. But before that happens, I'll waste my words for you, too. Consider it a reward for defeating me."

Sakura gasped. Those were the absolute last words she'd expected to hear out of Sasori's mouth. Why now, after all that had happened? Why would he do this for _her? _Her incredulity seemed to amuse him.

"You...wanted to know about Orochimaru, right? Go to the Tenchi Bridge ten days from now."

"What's there?" Sakura demanded. She'd be damned if he died before he could tell her.

"I have a spy posing as Orochimaru's subordinate. We were...supposed to meet...at noon...there..."

Sakura had to strain her hearing to pick up his last words. It took her a second to realize he wasn't going to say anything more. Not because he chose not to, but because he was finally dead.

"It's over, Chiyo-baa-sama."

Sakura could hardly believe her own empty proclamation as she looked at a now prostrate Sasori next to his Mother and Father puppets. This time, he wasn't getting up.

They had won. _She_ had won.

But she could not bring herself even to smile at the thought.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, you look like hell."

Sakura nearly tripped over a lunette and ate sand. They had been walking through the desert back to Sunagakure for the past two hours now, but Temari assured them it was not far. Tired from the most dangerous battle of her life and the emotional drain from losing Chiyo, Sakura didn't have the energy to hit Naruto.

"So do you," she said instead.

Naruto growled beside her. "I should have killed that Akatsuki lunatic when I had the chance."

"Don't say that. He's dead, so who cares how it happened? Anyway, Gaara's alive now because of you."

"No, he's alive because of _us._ And Chiyo-baa, most of all. If she hadn't used her technique on him..."

He trailed off, not wanting to think about that possibility. Naruto had lost and reclaimed the one person who truly understood his situation all in the course of one day. It was the longest day of Sakura's life, and it still wasn't over.

She looked over her shoulder at the revived Kazekage walking between Temari and Baki. Kakashi was bringing up the rear of the small shinobi garrison, various Sand shinobi flanking Gaara while others scouted ahead and behind for any further signs of Akatsuki. Team Gai had already headed back to Konoha.

All she could think about was Chiyo and their fight with Sasori. It felt like remembering a dream, and in a way it was just that. No one alive right now had witnessed the epic battle other than herself, so there was no third party to recount her stellar performance. She sighed. This was not the time or place to be thinking such selfish thoughts when Chiyo had given her life for a Kazekage she barely knew or even accepted until mere hours ago.

"She fought so bravely, Naruto."

The blond teenager peered at her. "How did you and Chiyo-baa defeat that guy, anyway? Uh, no offense or anything."

Sakura shook her head. She knew he meant well. "We didn't."

"Huh?'

"At the end...he let Chiyo-baa-sama's last attack hit him. That's what she told me, at least." Sakura frowned at the loose, golden sand as it scattered in the late afternoon breeze.

"Why would he do that?"

_That's what I'd like to know._

"...I really don't know."

"Oooy!"

The greeting drew everyone's attention and Sakura looked up through dirty bangs to see the imposing walls of Sunagakure rising up before them. They'd made it.

"About damn time!" Naruto shouted. He turned around and dashed to Gaara's side, gesticulating at the fast-approaching village. Gaara smiled softly at his friend and everyone decided to pick up the pace for the home stretch. In no time at all, they were back inside the confines of the Hidden Sand.

They ended up staying the night to recover. Gaara set up the remaining three members of Team 7 in a hotel near the Kazekage's offices. He insisted they stay longer than just the one night—he could never repay them for the service they'd done Suna and himself—but Kakashi politely declined. They would have to report to the Hokage, anyway. Still, Sakura was grateful for the small reprieve before they made the three-day journey back to Konoha.

_That gives me a week before Sasori's spy will be at the Tenchi Bridge._

She'd already decided she was going to meet the spy, but she hadn't told anyone about it yet. There was no reason to hesitate, but still she held her tongue. It was ten days away, so there wasn't any rush to divulge the information, she reasoned.

Deciding to take a walk after cleaning up, Sakura broke off from her teammates and meandered through Suna. Mothers recalled their hildren playing in the streets as the sun slumped lower on the horizon. Windows of short, domed dwellings glowed with yellow and orange light, reminding Sakura of clusters of fireflies. It was a cool night, but she welcomed the chill. She'd sweated enough for one day.

As she made her way down the street, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if a younger version of Sasori had ever walked down this very road with Chiyo so many years ago. How could Chiyo still care about him? It didn't make sense logically, not after everything he'd put her through. Knowing that he was the one responsible for the death of the Third Kazekage should have turned any loyal shinobi of Suna against him. And yet, Chiyo had smiled in the end. Sakura knew that look because it was the look she got whenever she thought about how Sasuke had once been a part of her team.

But even in the grey world of shinobi, Sasori was undoubtedly that rare, black extremity. He was a villain through and through. He _had _to be.

"Haruno Sakura?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Sakura turned around and came face to face with an ancient man. He wore a turban and had the longest eyebrows she'd ever seen. Maybe it was because of the fading light, but Sakura could have sworn he had two black pits where his eyes should have been. She recognized him after a moment's hesitation.

"Ebizo...jii-sama?"

"Ah, I thought I recognized you. What are you doing out? You must be tired after such a long day."

Sakura shifted her weight. She _was _exhausted, but the need to get some fresh air after the stifling atmosphere of the cave in which she'd faced Sasori beat out her exhaustion.

"I just wanted to take a walk before we leave tomorrow morning," she said, offering him a weak smile.

He studied her in silence, and Sakura could have kicked herself for being so rude. "Ebizo-jii-sama, I am so sorry for your loss."

He blinked at her (or would have, if she could see his eyes) and smiled sadly. "Thank you, child." He sighed. "I suppose there's no coming back from that this time."

Sakura frowned but said nothing.

"I wonder...if you would tell me a bit about your fight?"

It was Sakura's turn to be taken aback. "You want to know about the fight with Sasori?"

"I hope he wasn't too hard on you."

Sakura felt very strange having this conversation. Ebizo seemed a little eccentric, but she was used to dealing with the elderly in a hospital setting, unlike her mentor. Tsunade's patience with the elderly ran as thin as gossamer.

"He was very strong."

"Yes, I suppose he must have been. Nee-chan trained him, after all."

Sakura nodded. Images of Sasori trying to bludgeon her with two-ton iron sand columns or nearly asphyxiating her with poison flooded her mind's eye. Sasori had been _very_ strong.

"Chiyo-baa-sama fought valiantly," she added. "She's really the one who beat him, not me."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true. After all, Nee-chan was a loony old bat! You young people have more spunk than us geezers."

A smile tugged at Sakura's lips. It seemed like he'd had a really good relationship with Chiyo.

"Ebizo-jii-sama?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to him?"

Ebizo was silent for a long time. The sun had dipped below the horizon before he decided to answer her question.

"Sasori was always alone. And solitude will drive a man mad, no matter how powerful he becomes or how far he tries to outrun it."

Sakura couldn't help but think of Gaara. She'd seen how far he deteriorated at the Chuunin exams three years ago. It could have happened to Naruto if he didn't have Kakashi and Sasuke and her. If that was the result of extreme solitude, then perhaps Chiyo was right; Sasori was a product of the cruel environment in which he was raised.

But it felt like a sorry excuse.

"I should be getting back now. It's been a very long day," she said, suddenly uncomfortable. "Please excuse me."

When Ebizo didn't respond, Sakura took the opportunity to slip away.

* * *

Snowflakes rained from the sky like ashes as the last rays of sunlight yielded to the height of a western-facing peak. The sublime mountain scenery shimmered red and orange and yellow with the effects of alpenglow. There were no human settlements around for miles, lending the place to tranquility and solitude. A thin smokestack curling out of a short chimney that disappeared into the side of one of the mountains betrayed the only human presence in the area.

A short, mousy woman with thick spectacles and bundled up in a floor-length parka trudged through the snowdrift toward the chimney. With no living soul around for miles save for wild wolves and deer, she continued her trek until she was almost upon the human creation without worry. A few swift hand seals concealed by her woolen mittens prompted the craggy mountain side to twist and groan until a small entryway appeared and cleared a path deep into the stone. She hurried inside.

The short hike to the heart of the mountain burrow ended in a small but clean room with a single bed and modest kitchenette. She pulled off her winter gear—a task that took a good ten minutes—before making her way through a narrow door at the opposite end of the room. Behind the door, a fire bathed the separate bedroom in a warm, orange glow. Spartan furnishings allowed for only a single wooden chair next to a twin bed. The rest of the empty floor space was cluttered with various medical devices and tools, including an IV stand, a desk shoved in the corner covered with an array of half-full test tubes, and a stack of thick medical tomes.

She approached the bed and stared at the face of its sole occupant. He never spoke to her; he never even woke up. All he did was sleep the days and nights away, dead for all intents and purposes. Except his cheeks were flushed and warm to the touch, and his hair that she'd trimmed herself only a few days ago was soft and clean. He was very much alive.

She wished he would talk to her sometimes so that she wouldn't feel so alone in the deafening silence of nature. But her job was simply to take care of him for as long as it took until he woke up one day. She didn't know why or how she'd gotten here, and sometimes she wondered what it would be like to leave. But as soon as such thoughts entered her head, she wound up with the most intense migraines she had ever experienced. It was best not to think; she just obeyed ingrained orders.

The woman adjusted her thick glasses and moved to examine the feeding tube. The bag was nearly empty, so she decided it was time to change it. Supplies weren't easy to come by in this part of Snow Country, but she made the biweekly journey to the nearest civilian town—thirty miles east of here—without complaint. She _could not_ complain. This was the way things were, the way they had always been.

Deciding not to dwell on impossibilities, she returned to the kitchenette to procure a new IV bag. The IV stand was a little tall, so she had to reach up in order to remove the empty bag and replace it with the fresh one. Practiced fingers detached the feeding tube from the old bag, and she paused.

What if she just let him starve to death?

Unbidden, a rush of crippling pain made her cry out as she clutched her head and tried in vain to hold back her tears. She should have known better than to think such traitorous thoughts. Besides, without him she would truly be alone.

After a few deep breaths her hands stopped shaking and the pain dissipated, much to her relief. She would have to be more careful with her wayward thoughts. Losing herself in the routine task of re-adjusting the IV bag and feeding tube, she didn't register the change in the atmosphere right away.

A quick double check confirmed that everything was in place and functioning properly. The woman turned to gaze upon her charge to see if he was warm enough...

...only to find that he was looking right at her.

Mortification paralyzed her mid-step and she tripped, bringing the entire IV stand down with her as she tumbled to the floor with a loud _crash. _For a moment, she forgot to breathe.

He sat up in the bed and the woman opened her mouth in a silent scream. Honey eyes—eyes that she hadn't seen in twenty years—scrutinized her.

"Yuka."

That snapped her out of it and she started to scramble backwards in the general direction of the door. He looked so _angry._

"M-master, please, I—"

"Stop."

She stopped. Every instinct was telling her to get the hell out of there, but her body remained immobilized by some unseen force.

"Get up."

She got up.

_Oh god, please..._

The man she had served for the past two decades here, alone in the frigid arctic away from any semblance of human contact, peered at her as if she were a stubborn smudge on a window that just wouldn't come off no matter how many times he scrubbed it.

"Did you have any problems?" he asked.

"No, sir." A growing headache made her dizzy. "No problems at all. I've done all you asked of me."

"Good."

He shifted his weight until he was sitting up. Yuka could not help but be amazed at how young he looked now that he was awake and talking. Even after twenty years, he didn't look much older than the day he'd placed her here to watch over him until further notice. She didn't want to know the details of whatever jutsu he'd used to accomplish that.

"Please, Sasori-sama, you promised," she whimpered.

"Promised?"

"Y-yes, that I would be dismissed if you...if you ever woke up, I mean. You gave me your word, sir."

Her master seemed to think this over for a moment before holding his hand out to her. But instead of a conciliatory gesture, she recognized it as a threat.

"Please, I—"

Glowing blue thread shot out from his fingers and latched onto Yuka's neck. She squeaked in terror and clawed at them frantically. It was no use.

"I recall," Sasori said, "that I never make promises."

The chakra threads tightened about her throat and her face grew hot. Vaguely, she pictured herself turning from red to blue to purple as the life slowly and painfully left her.

"You're dismissed, my faithful servant."

Yuka twitched and collapsed to the floor in a heap. She didn't get up again.

Sasori quickly lost interest in her as he flexed his fingers and took a deep breath, tasting the air. It smelled of cedar pine. A small fire crackled in the nearby hearth, drawing his attention. He stared into it as the torrid flames seemed to dance and cast shadows across his face. They felt warm on his skin.

"I suppose it's time for Plan B."

Yuka's corpse remained silent on the floor, but the fire crackled delightedly again.

Firelight illuminated Akasuna no Sasori's honey eyes as he pulled himself up and walked out the door.

* * *

**Story Notes (please read!): **Before you continue with this, I highly suggest checking out the prequel I've written called _Schadenfreude. _It's a backstory concerning Orochimaru, Sasori, Deidara, and their relationships and growth before the start of _Zero Hour. _I'll be making many references to it herein that will immensely help your understanding of those three characters (and Sakura) as they appear here, especially later on. So if you haven't already done so already, I encourage you to check it out!

This will be another multi-chaptered fic of unspecified length. The designated genres are Drama and Action/Adventure, but I will also explore Suspense, Friendship, Horror, and Romance, among others. I will mostly be sticking to Sakura's POV with a few exceptions later on, and I will not be writing from Sasori's POV in this. I'm doing this for a reason, so please don't ask for his perspective.

Reviews are love, guys. Show some! :)


	2. With a Little Help from My Friends

Zero Hour - Chapter 2: With a Little Help from My Friends  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"I get by with a little help from my friends." - Paul McCartney

* * *

The journey back to Konoha took three days and two nights. Even though Kakashi was still too tired from using his new Mangekyou Sharingan in the fight against Deidara to move at his normal speed, with Naruto and Sakura taking turns to support him they made the trip home without losing much time. Sakura was infinitely grateful to finally be out of the scorching desert sun and back in the lush forests of Fire Country. The air here smelled more alive somehow, and after so much pain and blood and death, it was a welcome change.

_Chiyo-baa-sama..._

Sakura got the chance to pay her respects one last time at the headstone set up for the deceased Suna elder on the morning of Team 7's departure, for which she was grateful. It wasn't anything special, just a short little thing in the shape of Suna's village symbol with a simple name and lifespan engraving, but it was a permanent reminder of the great kunoichi who'd given her life and more to her village. She would be remembered.

It didn't make her death any easier to accept, though.

Now back in Konoha, Sakura had a week to figure out what to do about Sasori's last words. His spy would be at the Tenchi Bridge in Grass Country expecting to meet with Sasori, not with a pink-haired Konoha kunoichi. What if he decided to attack her as soon as he realized his position as a spy had been compromised? Or what if he would want revenge for Sasori's death? There were so many questions, and Sakura felt a headache coming on as she tried to think about how best to go about this. She knew she should probably inform the Hokage, but she left it out in her mission report. She even glossed over most of the battle with Sasori except to say that he was dead as a doorknob and certainly not coming back.

"You could have died back there, Sakura," Tsunade said reproachfully. "Without Chiyo's help, you wouldn't be standing here now."

Sakura swallowed but did not flinch as the Hokage stared her down. "Yes, Tsunade-sama. But I'm here, and Sasori is dead."

"And so is Chiyo."

Sakura looked away from her mentor. "Yes."

"I'm proud of you, Sakura."

Sakura immediately snapped to attention. "What?"

"How many Chuunin do you know that can claim to have outwitted and overpowered a member of Akatsuki?"

"Tsunade-sama..."

"Chiyo and I had our differences, but if she was willing to save your life like you said she did, then I trust that whatever happened in that cave between the three of you must have brought something fierce out of you." Tsunade grinned as Sakura mouthed wordlessly. "You're my student, after all. I trained you to stay alive, but I also trained you to win."

Sakura was speechless as the Godaime Hokage, the toughest kunoichi she'd ever met, praised her skills. She hadn't even been there!

_She believes in me._

A small but heartfelt smile graced Sakura's features. "It was...an exhilarating battle." She looked up and met Tsunade's eyes with her own. "We beat him."

"And now we have a revived Kazekage and two dead Akatsuki. All in all, a good day's work." Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "On another note, Kakashi will be recovering for a while longer. In the meantime, you and Naruto will have some time off. I'd say you've earned it. Now get out of my office."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Smiling to herself, Sakura slipped out of the Hokage's office and exited the building. She was still reeling somewhat from her mentor's words. Tsunade never praised her unless she'd truly earned it for accomplishing something incredible. Perhaps it was okay like this. Even if she didn't have Sasuke's genius or Naruto's raw power or Kakashi's lethal arsenal, she was as much a member of Team 7 as they were. If the Hokage could see that, then surely everyone else would too, in time.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Sakura set off down the main street of Konoha feeling better than she had in a long time. It was evening by then and she was starting to get hungry. Maybe she should do some shopping and make dinner for Naruto? It would beat ramen, that was for sure. She honestly did not know how he could eat the stuff so often when it was dangerously overloaded with sodium.

_That idiot's going to die of hypernatremia before the Akatsuki even have a chance of getting to him, I swear._

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura!"

Sakura turned around and caught sight of Tenten jogging toward her. She stopped and waited for the older girl.

"Hey, Tenten. When did you guys get back?"

Tenten caught up and the two girls fell into step together.

"Two days ago. Ugh, Gai-sensei and Lee thought it would be fun to race the last hundred miles back. As if we didn't get enough of a workout fighting our evil twins back in River Country!"

Sakura cringed. Gai and Lee were notorious fitness junkies. All she'd wanted to do that first night after her battle against Sasori was sleep for a week.

"So you made the three day journey in only two days?"

"Yeah, well, it's not like Neji and I had a choice!" Tenten threw her arms up in exasperation. "Hey, what are you up to right now, anyway?"

"Just thinking about buying stuff for dinner. I thought I'd make something for Naruto to preempt any trips to Ichiraku."

"Naruto loves ramen as much as Lee loves to train. What is wrong with all the men in this place?"

They laughed together as they entered the busier part of downtown Konoha. Street lamps were beginning to flicker to life to fend off the encroaching darkness as civilians and shinobi alike milled about in search of food, drinks, or company. Young men and women dressed to impress scurried past them in the direction of local restaurants and pubs. Friday night was a good time to be in Konoha.

"Hey, how about instead of staying in we go out for dinner?" Tenten ventured.

Sakura thought about this for a moment. "That would be fun, but then Naruto will probably end up at Ichiraku's alone since Kakashi's in the hospital." She didn't want to leave him alone for the moment, not after what they'd been through the last few days.

"Well, let's invite him, too! Actually, why don't we make a party of it? We can invite the Konoha 11 for a night out."

Tenten clapped her hands together in delight, clearly pleased with her idea. Hearing the proposition out loud, Sakura found that it pleased her, too.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Let's spread the word."

"Ooh! Let's go to that new place that opened up last month. I've been dying to try it, but Gai-sensei's always signing us up for mission after mission."

"Oh yeah, Kiba was telling me that it was really good. Let's meet there in an hour, say?"

"Perfect! See you then!"

Tenten waved goodbye and Sakura smiled after her. This would be just what they all needed, she decided. It would take Naruto's mind off of his dismal battle with that blonde Akatsuki and everything that had happened with Gaara, which would be good for him. And it would be a welcome distraction from her own troubled thoughts regarding Sasori's last words and Chiyo's death. Sakura turned down a side street and headed in the direction of Naruto's apartment, foregoing her shopping plans.

* * *

"So I told her I was there to save her, and she was all, 'Oh, my hero!'"

Kiba clasped his hands together and batted his eyelashes, eliciting a round of laughter from the rest of the table's occupants.

"Oh, Kiba! I'm sure she was absolutely smitten with you when you showed up to save her life from those bandits!" Lee enthused.

"You got that right, Lee. She was totally into me—"

"Whoa there, Prince Charming," Ino said as she set down her drink and poked Kiba in the chest. "You really expect us to believe that some civilian girl was throwing her panties at you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Kiba shot back, grabbing Ino's finger to keep her from poking him more. "Just 'cause you're jealous doesn't mean you have to police me, you know."

"Ohhh sure, 'cause it's my life's dream to marry a dog."

"What's marriage got to do with it?" Kiba grinned salaciously at the blonde kunoichi.

"You will stop this immediately," Neji said threateningly. He was seated in between Ino and Kiba as they faced off over his head.

Shikamaru reached up and tugged Ino's ponytail so she would sit back down. "Cut it out before Neji kills him."

"Hey Tenten, pass the ribs, will ya?" Chouji said as he washed down his last bite of food with a cold drink.

"Kiba, you are mistaken. Why? Because if I recall correctly, and I do, the civilian woman was, in fact, talking to me when she said that."

All eyes turned to Shino who sat calmly with his hands folded in his lap. Tenten had to stifle a giggle, but Sakura had no such reservations.

"Well, Kiba, sounds like you're all talk and no action."

"What did you say?" He turned on her and snarled. "I get plenty of action!"

"_Of course_ you do," Ino cut in.

"What is this, gang up on Kiba day?" he growled, looking between the friendly rivals.

Ino and Sakura shared a knowing smile.

"Ok, hold up. I know how to settle this," Naruto announced as he stood up from his position at the head of the table, pointing enthusiastically at Hinata with a giant serving spoon. "Hinata, you were there, right? Which of these two morons got lucky?"

Hinata, shocked enough that she'd been called on by Naruto, blanched at the idea of having to side with one of her teammates against the other on as sensitive a subject as female attraction.

"I, um, that is..."

"Speak up, Hinata!" Tenten chirped. She offered the shy girl a reassuring shoulder hug.

"This conversation is ridiculous," Neji grumbled.

Ino, now properly seated again, shoved him with a challenging glint in her eyes. He shoved her right back, though much more discreetly.

"Hinata-san, did you see what happened with the beautiful civilian girl who stole your teammates' hearts?" Lee said eagerly.

"Lee, you are mistaken because my heart was not stolen in any manner," Shino clarified.

"Yeah, because she didn't even give you the time of day, dude," Kiba said.

"Oh geez, will you two just let her speak?" Sakura said. "Hinata, go on."

Everyone fell silent as they waited for Hinata to settle the matter. The shy Hyuuga heiress gulped visibly. "Well, um, you see..."

"Yeah? Who did she like?" Naruto prodded.

"When she made that comment about being her hero," Hinata began.

"Oh, the suspense is _just _killing me," Shikamaru said under his breath.

"Um, you see, she was actually talking to me," Hinata finished, looking abashed. She shot Kiba and Shino alternating apologetic looks.

"WHAT? No way, seriously, Hinata? No bullshit?" Naruto said, getting right in her face as if that would confirm it.

"N-no bullshit," she squeaked.

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten burst out laughing, and Tenten hugged Hinata again for good measure. Neji and Shikamaru looked at the quiet girl in total shock.

"That is not how I recall it happening," Shino said neutrally.

"DAMN RIGHT that's not what happened!" Kiba said, slamming a fist on the table.

"Hey, cool it, Kiba! You'll spill the drinks," Chouji reprimanded.

"Hehe, I dunno, man," Naruto said. "I think she's telling the truth."

"Hinata-san must have proven her worth as an outstanding kunoichi," Lee said. "I do not doubt that she deserved the civilian girl's heartfelt gratitude!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Lee," Tenten said.

"Well, cheer up, boys," Ino said. "You can't compete with Hinata anyway, so you never stood a chance with that girl to begin with."

Hinata frowned. "Why would Kiba and and Shino have to worry about competing with me for girls?"

Ino beamed at Hinata but Neji reached an arm around her to clamp a hand over her mouth and pull her to his chest. "Don't worry about it, Hinata-sama," he said sternly.

"Oh, Neji, I am so happy that you've found such a beautiful girlfriend in Ino-san!" Lee gushed. He turned to Sakura. "Sakura-san, I hope that one day I can prove myself as a worthy contender for your heart, as well."

"Uh, thanks Lee," Sakura said sheepishly, unsure what to say that would discourage him without sounding too harsh.

"Lee, listen to me," Shikamaru said. "Women are trouble. Just...don't even go there."

"I'm sure Temari would love to hear about your opinion of women, considering she is one," Sakura said, shooting the lazy bum a glare that Inner Sakura would have been proud of had she been twelve years old again.

Shikamaru scowled but put up his hands in defeat. "See what I mean? What a hassle."

The waiter suddenly appeared to bring them a refill on the drinks. Neji released Ino and she kissed him on the cheek. Sakura noted the irritated look he shot her at the public display of affection.

"Honestly, I have no idea what Ino sees in that guy," Kiba grumbled.

"Che, agreed," Naruto said.

"I do."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, not you too!"

"I bet it's the hair. Is that it?" Kiba continued, unfazed.

Sakura just laughed at their antics. In the last three years, the eleven remaining shinobi in her Academy class had become very close. It was sometimes hard to laugh with them when Sasuke's absence was acutely felt by all, especially by Naruto and herself, but their friends made it infinitely more bearable. One day, Sakura thought, after everything was over and done with and both Akatsuki and the Sound village were distant memories, they would all sit here together and share silly stories about anything and everything. All twelve of them.

"Hey, who's up for another round?" Tenten asked.

"Definitely!" Ino said.

"Um, maybe we can order dessert too?" Hinata said hopefully.

"Chocolate sundaes, believe it!" Naruto said, grabbing her hand and waving it in the air like a victory fist pump.

"Who exactly is going to pay for all this?" Shikamaru asked no one in particular.

Sakura grinned. "I'm glad you asked that, Shikamaru." Then, standing up and addressing the whole table she said, "Alright, boys. I'll arm wrestle any one of you for my part of the check."

"You're on, Sakura!" Chouji said, enlarging his entire right arm in preparation.

"This is a _horrible_ idea," Neji said.

"I am inclined to agree with Hyuuga," Shino said even as he leaned forward to clear the plates and make room for the brawny competitors.

"Hey, hey! Let's raise the stakes a little," Tenten said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "If Sakura wins, the boys pick up the tab."

"How invigorating! I will cheer on the beautiful Sakura-san!"

"Lee, you idiot! This is a war of the sexes and you're on the wrong side cheering for Sakura!" Kiba said.

"Alright, Chouji. I hope you're ready for this," Sakura said.

"Bring it on!"

"Oh my god, there are like nineteen different toppings we can get for the sundaes!" Naruto said, completely ignoring the competition.

"Oh no, I can't decide which ones I want," Hinata said as she looked over the dessert menu, stricken.

"You better win this, Forehead. I'm not paying for Chouji's dinner," Ino whispered.

"Watch me, Pig."

In the end, Sakura used her superhuman strength and wiped the floor with Chouji. Kiba was quick to accuse her of cheating, but Tenten pointed out that Chouji had used his clan technique in the competition, so it was a fair win. Defeated, the boys picked up the tab and the Konoha 11 called it a night.

"I'll walk you home."

Sakura didn't have to turn around to know it was Naruto jogging to catch up with her. They fell into step together as they made their way down the lamplit cobblestone street. Even though it was late, people were still out and about enjoying the night. It was amazing to Sakura how they could be so carefree, and even how she and the other shinobi in her Academy class could be so merry. After all, it was only a few days ago that she'd fought the hardest battle of her life. The feeling was bittersweet.

"I wish Sasuke could have been there tonight."

Sakura turned to look at Naruto as he said it, but he was gazing up at the stars through the glare of the street lamps. She let a sad smile twist her lips.

"Me too."

"But just think. One day it'll be the four of us together again. Kakashi-sensei with his dirty books, Sasuke being a dick, and me totally pounding him when we retake the Chuunin exams together."

"And me?"

Naruto turned and looked at her this time and grinned. "You'll be there to beat the crap out of us when we get outta line."

Sakura laughed. "Someone's got to do it."

"I'll bring him back, Sakura-chan. I promise."

Sakura's smile faltered. It wasn't fair to put this kind of burden on his shoulders. They should be in this together, Kakashi too. Sasuke was their collective responsibility, not just Naruto's. But what could she do? Naruto was a Jinchuuriki with the power of the fabled demon fox flowing in his veins. Sakura packed a punch herself, but she knew Naruto was in another league. She never thought she could catch up to him or Sasuke. But that was before she became the Hokage's apprentice and found her own ninjutsu niche. That was before she fought an Akatsuki without their help and _won_.

"You know, you don't have to do this alone. What I asked you to do back then was selfish. It wasn't fair to put that kind of pressure on you."

"I never go back on my word; that's my way as a ninja. I _will _bring that asshole back if I have to drag him kicking and screaming."

Sakura said nothing as they continued walking, but on the inside she wondered. Even if they wanted Sasuke to come home, what if Sasuke didn't want that? She'd always assumed he would one day, but there had to be the possibility that he wouldn't. He'd left them of his own free will, after all. But she couldn't think like that. Sakura considered herself to be a generally positive person, and negative thoughts never helped anyone. She had to be optimistic and keep moving forward. In a week's time, she was scheduled to make good on Sasori's last words.

And then it hit her.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"If you can't bring Sasuke back, then I will."

Naruto blinked impossibly blue eyes at her. "Huh? You?"

"Yeah, me. Why? Is that so hard to believe or something?"

"N-no, no! That's not it!" he backpedaled, wary of her fists. "It's just that, well, you know..."

"What? You don't think I could?"

"No, it's not that..."

Sakura was feeling a little irritated at this point. "Then what is it?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

It was always the same story with Kakashi and him. They needed her—hell, they'd be dead without her by now—and they counted on her to support them in battle. But whenever it came to fighting on the front lines alone, they were firmly against it. She didn't blame them because they were only doing the sensible thing; if the medic was injured, then the survival rate of the whole team plummeted. Sakura's job was to stay alive because her very presence more than doubled the chances of survival and success. Tsunade had drilled that lesson into her time and again, so Sakura was generally happy to hang back and support her team on most days.

But in that cave in River Country, she had been the only one between Chiyo and herself that even stood a chance on the front line. Chiyo's age and puppet technique relegated her to distance fighting only, so it was up to Sakura to get right in Sasori's face. While she was relieved that that particularly harrowing experience was over and done with, she could remember specific instances in the battle when her fist connected with iron sand and shattered the cave ceiling, or when she narrowly avoided razor sharp blades to close the distance to her enemy, that had made her feel inexplicably invigorated. She'd never felt more alive than when she was dancing with death himself. She _loved_ that feeling of empowerment that came from actively wearing down the enemy instead of just hindering them indirectly by healing her comrades. Was that how Kakashi and Naruto and Sasuke had always felt on every mission Team 7 had ever accomplished?

"I know," she said. "But it hurts even more that I wasn't strong enough to go after him with you three years ago. I don't ever want to feel like that again."

It was Naruto's turn to founder for his words. "Sakura-chan..."

They had arrived at Sakura's house and paused in front. The porch light was on, indicating that her parents had already gone to bed.

"Thanks for walking me home, Naruto."

He grinned. "Anytime. And maybe next time we can go out to dinner just you and me?"

"Sure, but you're paying."

"Aw man, but I just spent all my money on tonight's dinner!"

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm better at arm wrestling than Chouji."

She laughed as Naruto pouted. "Goodnight, Naruto."

"Night, Sakura-chan."

Sakura turned around to go inside, but his voice stopped her.

"I don't think you're weak."

Sakura peered at him over her shoulder.

"I always thought you were incredibly strong. I don't know anyone else who could have survived all the shit Sasuke and I put you through and still be able to smile like you do."

Tears stung her eyes as she bit her lip to keep them at bay. "Thanks, Naruto."

He turned to leave and she went inside.

Soon Sakura was in bed and staring at the ceiling, replaying the events of the last few days up until Naruto walked her home tonight. Somehow she felt like she was on the edge of something big, and no matter what she did from now on she would fall either way. It was like something had been set in motion and now she had to take the plunge. But for what?

She was just overwhelmed, that was all. Losing Chiyo was obviously traumatic, and the thought of Naruto facing the same fate as Gaara should Akatsuki get ahold of him was not even something she could think about without feeling sick to her stomach. Chiyo's technique was something only she could use, and now she was gone... But Sakura would not let that happen. She would protect Naruto from Akatsuki, just as she would do her part to bring Sasuke home. And now, in the most unexpected way imaginable, she saw her chance to do just that.

_I'll get information about Sasuke from Sasori's spy and we'll go after him together. _

She didn't know who this spy was or what he might be capable of, but she wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste. She'd fought with everything she had to get this information out of Sasori before he died, and she'd be damned if she wasted her hard-earned reward. Naruto told her she was strong, but not in the way she wanted him to see. She would do this and prove that she could do more for him than just support from the sidelines. And then they would retrieve Sasuke together with Kakashi, as it should have been from the start. If the Hokage believed in her skills, and if Naruto believed in her will, then she could definitely do this.

Besides, how bad could it be? She'd already beaten Sasori, even though she'd had considerable help from Chiyo. Still, there was no way his subordinate could be as tough as he was. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a subordinate.

What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

When it finally came time for Sakura to slip away in time for the appointed meeting at the Tenchi Bridge, she told Tsunade she needed to visit her civilian grandmother near the border, who was ill. It wasn't really a lie; she did have an ailing civilian grandmother living near the border between Fire and River. Plus, Sakura promised herself she'd visit the elderly woman on her way back if she failed to get information from the spy for whatever reason. And if she succeeded, then she would be bringing home potentially hot intel and Tsunade would probably be grateful enough not to be too hard on her. Of course, Sakura had a niggling suspicion that things would not be so simple in reality. But she would cross that bridge when she got there.

Grass Country shared a border with Fire Country, so it wasn't terribly far from Konoha. The trip took her a day and a half in total, and she arrived at the Tenchi Bridge with a couple of hours to spare. Despite its name, the eastern part of Grass Country was actually densely forested. The Tenchi Bridge itself spanned a wide chasm with a raging river three hundred feet below. Sakura was grateful for the boscage that provided enough cover for her to have a good view of the bridge while staying hidden. As far as she could tell, she was alone in the area.

Having prepared a plan of attack over the last few days, Sakura cautiously stepped out of hiding and circled the perimeter of the bridge. She focused her chakra and executed a round of eight hand seals, touching trees as she traversed the area. Kurenai had been working with her over the last year on developing her latent affinity for genjutsu. It was something Tsunade had not been able to coach her in, given the older kunoichi's lack of development in that area. This particular genjutsu was designed to be seamless; the target could walk right into it and not even realize something was amiss. The catch was that it required an extremely refined level of control over one's chakra, but Sakura had that in spades. Kurenai marveled at how quickly Sakura was able to pick up on the art of illusion thanks to her natural affinity and perfect control.

_Let's hope it works now when I need it most._

Once the illusory trap was set, Sakura returned to her hiding place in a particularly leafy tree to await the arrival of Sasori's spy. No sooner had she settled in than footsteps drew her attention. Alarmed, Sakura dared not even breathe as she watched a hooded figure approach the bridge. He was early by about ten minutes. If she'd finished only a moment later, she may have been found out! The hooded figure, who Sakura could only assume was the spy, passed through the barrier of her genjutsu without a hitch, and she let herself exhale in mild relief. At least now that he was in the illusion, she would have an easier time getting away if something went wrong.

"Sasori-sama," the spy said. His tone was distinctly masculine. "It's been a long time."

Sakura took that as her cue. "It has."

Within the genjutsu, the spy would be seeing and hearing Sasori's voice as he appeared within his puppet armor, Hiruko, but Sakura would supply the words. Now all she had to do was get him to reveal where Sasuke was currently being held.

The spy suddenly reached for his hood and pulled it down. "Five years, to be exact."

Sakura's entire body went rigid as the spy's visage came into view. "Yakushi Kabuto," she said, shocked.

Of all the people that could have been selling Orochimaru out to Akatsuki, Kabuto was probably the last person she'd been expecting. Last time she saw him, he'd acted the part of Orochimaru's devoted follower well. A small inkling of panic crept up her spine. Something was definitely amiss.

"Were you followed?" she asked, masking her nervousness.

"No, we're safe here."

Kabuto looked like he was talking to thin air, which assured Sakura that he did not suspect her genjutsu at all. He was a very good medical ninja, from what she remembered, but he hadn't displayed any skills in genjutsu. Maybe she would make it out of this in one piece, after all. Best to get the information she needed and get the hell out.

"I have some questions for you," she said.

"I don't have much time, so please be brief. I've taken enough risk just coming here."

Sakura almost wanted to snort. If there was one facet of Sasori's personality that she'd picked up on right away, it was that he was impossibly impatient. "You know I don't like to keep others waiting, so I'll get to the point. Tell me the location of Orochimaru's current base. Is Uchiha Sasuke currently being held there?"

This was the moment of truth. Was this something Sasori would have asked Kabuto? Sakura had no way of knowing, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"We change bases periodically, although the main base in Sound is our largest. Currently, we are hidden underground on a small island in a lake north of here. Uchiha Sasuke is also there."

_Oh my god, I did it!_

She could hardly believe her ears. Kabuto had just revealed Sasuke's current location without difficulty, and from the sound of it he would be there for a while yet. She had to get back to Konoha immediately and report this to Tsunade. Naruto and Kakashi had to know.

The sound of rustling leaves made Kabuto whirl and Sakura tense like a taut rubber band. They were not alone.

_I need to get out of here _now.

"Oh, it's just a rabbit," Kabuto's voice floated to her ears.

He relaxed a little and Sakura almost fell out of the tree at the rush of relief. For moment she thought she'd felt a cold chill on her bare arms...

"About Orochimaru's Edo Tensei jutsu you asked me to look into," Kabuto said.

_Edo Tensei?_

"I was unfortunately unable to retrieve any samples of the body Orochimaru used as a medium for the last experimental summoning because he...disposed of it."

Why would Sasori have been interested in the Second Hokage's forbidden technique? She was drawing a blank, but it didn't matter. She needed to get out of here now that she had the information she needed.

"I understand," she said. If she could just slip away before he realized he was caught up in a genjutsu...

Suddenly, a spike of chakra directly behind her made her gasp and Sakura shot forward out of the tree at lightning speed. Kabuto whirled, dazed and unseeing as Sakura landed on the bridge. In the shock of obviously having been found out, she'd lost control of the illusion.

"What the—!" Kabuto said, bewildered as he saw her for the first time.

Sakura pulled herself up and summoned chakra to her fists out of habit. The tree leaves where she'd been hiding only moments ago rustled and a fat white snake with beady black eyes slithered down the trunk.

"I hate to interrupt," came a silky voice from the end of the bridge Kabuto had originally come from, "but I don't think we've been formally acquainted."

Sakura felt all the blood drain from her face as Orochimaru sauntered onto the far end of the bridge, his steps muffled and light. The white snake that had chased her out of the tree slithered along beside him.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't look like my old partner," Orochimaru continued.

Kabuto frowned at her, realizing now that he'd been played for a fool. Sakura backed up a step as the two men stared her down. For the second time in less than a month, she felt herself walking precariously on that thin line between life and death. Only this time, there was no one there to help her regain her balance.


	3. Know Your Enemy

Zero Hour - Chapter 3: Know Your Enemy  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Know thyself, know thine enemy; a thousand battles, a thousand victories." - Sun Tzu

* * *

"Orochimaru," Sakura said.

"I see my reputation precedes me." He took a moment to look her over while his snake curled about his leg. "You seem...familiar, somehow."

"Haruno Sakura," Kabuto said. "Sasuke-kun's third teammate and the Hokage's apprentice."

This seemed to pique Orochimaru's interest. "You don't say..."

Sakura was torn between running and shattering the bridge with Kabuto and Orochimaru still standing on it. This was beyond bad. With a little luck she may have been able to deal with Kabuto on her own, but she could not hope to defeat Orochimaru without backup even on her best day; not even the Third Hokage had been able to stand up against him. And the way he looked at her after Kabuto revealed her identity was putting her on edge.

She was regretting her decision to come here alone quite splendidly now.

"I'm not here to fight you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady as she positioned herself for escape.

"I'm sure," Orochimaru said, stepping closer to the middle of the bridge where she and Kabuto were standing.

"Where is Sasori?" Kabuto asked.

Sakura's eyes flickered between the enemy ninja. "He's dead. The Suna elder Chiyo and I killed him."

Kabuto looked genuinely astonished. "You're joking."

Sakura remained silent.

"How did you find out about my meeting with him?"

"He told me...just before he died."

_If I can just destroy the bridge, maybe I can outrun them._

"That's _very _interesting," Orochimaru interrupted. "I never knew Sasori to be so forthcoming. You must have given him the fight of his life if he entrusted you with that kind of information."

"Orochimaru-sama, what should we do about her?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru seemed to think about this for a moment, and that was when Sakura made her move. She produced five kunai and flung them at the two Sound shinobi, who instantly moved to deflect them. But just as she made to turn around and run off the bridge, something caught her ankle in a death grip. Stunned, she tripped and fell hard on the wooden bridge. Orochimaru's pet snake coiled tightly around her calf, immobilizing her. Panic gripped her in its iron vice as she instinctively tried to pull away.

"Leaving so soon? How rude," Orochimaru crooned.

_I am going to die, _Sakura thought, a chill running up her spine. _He's going to kill me._

A whistling sound was her only warning before something raced by her too fast for the naked eye to detect. Time seemed to stop momentarily when one minute the white snake was coiled around her leg baring its poisonous fangs at her and the next its entire head was sliced clean off and rolling across the bridge. It took Sakura another stunned half second to react, but once she felt the grip on her leg slacken she wasted no time in kicking the dead snake's decapitated body off of her and scrambling to her feet. She gave pause when she noticed the confused look on Kabuto's face.

"What a shame. I rather liked the idea that she'd killed you so I wouldn't have to do the deed myself," Orochimaru said, although the amusement was gone from his tone now.

"Ah, she did. But it's essential to have a backup plan. You taught me that, Orochimaru."

Sakura felt her blood turn to ice at the sound of that cold, steel voice from somewhere behind her. This wasn't possible. She'd _watched him die._

"Indeed," Orochimaru said. "Perhaps I should have eliminated that particular scapegoat of yours when I had the chance."

"Orochimaru-sama, is that... Could that person be Sasori?"

"You never saw his real form? No, I suppose you wouldn't have." Turning back to Sasori he added, "You always were rather secretive, but seeing you like that takes me back."

Sakura had to force herself not to hyperventilate. There was nothing she wanted more than to be anywhere but here, but still she forced herself to look. Against all odds and in defiance of all the laws of nature, Akasuna no Sasori stood several meters behind her at the end of the Tenchi Bridge farthest from Orochimaru. He was no longer dressed in his Akatsuki cloak, but instead wore dark navy, a khaki one-shoulder vest, and scuffed arm and leg guards. Three humanoid puppets bearing katanas and hiding who knew what other deadly traps flanked him.

They locked eyes and Sakura felt all the air leave her lungs. Trapped between him on one side and Orochimaru on the other, she was sure she would not be leaving here with her life intact. Sasori regarded her intently for a moment.

"I'm not here for you," he said. He must have picked up on the fear she was trying to hold back. "So don't flatter yourself."

"I certainly didn't expect you to send the Hokage's own apprentice to me, Sasori," Orochimaru said.

Sakura heard the telltale clicking of wood on metal as Sasori fluttered his fingers and poised his puppets for battle. "She served her purpose."

"And what might that be?"

"To gauge the loyalty of my spy," he said casually, though Sakura got the distinct impression that he was feeling anything but.

"Always so distrustful. You never change."

Kabuto took half a step back and crouched into a fighting stance of his own.

"Orochimaru-sama broke your mind control spell long ago and shared his incredible knowledge with me. It would be my honor and privilege to deliver your corpse to him personally."

Sasori's look turned venomous without even trying. "Orochimaru, you always did have a knack for undoing all my hard work. But I suppose this time it's my own fault for sending Kabuto to you. They say treachery is contagious."

Orochimaru laughed. "You blind fool! Kabuto was mine long before you ever found him. How do you think I knew so much about Akatsuki's movements after I left the organization?"

"That's impossible. I would have known—"

"But you didn't," Orochimaru said. "Because I was always the better shinobi, and you were always so laughably predictable."

A gust of wind blew hard enough to send a flurry of leaves flying past them. Sakura shivered, at a loss for how she was going to extricate herself from the impending fight between Sasori and Orochimaru. No matter which way she turned, an enemy stood in her way. She was alone here.

"Then I'm sure you already know that I'm here to kill you," Sasori said. "Perhaps I'll start by ripping out your disgustingly long tongue. Every word that comes out of your mouth is a worthless lie, anyway."

Orochimaru grinned, but there was nothing happy about his expression. He was out for blood. "You cannot hope to win against me, let alone with Kabuto on my side."

"Watch me."

Sasori flexed his fingers and his puppets got ready to spring on command. Orochimaru crouched into his own fighting stance and concentrated. Sakura had to assume Kabuto would back up Orochimaru, but that still didn't bode well for her as long as she was surrounded on all sides by the enemy.

_Not good._

And then it began. Sakura watched as Sasori launched all three puppets into the air over her head. One flew at Kabuto while the other two hurtled toward Orochimaru himself. Kabuto jumped backwards to avoid the deadly arc of a poisoned katana, but Orochimaru just stood there. Right when Sasori's puppets came within range of him, Orochimaru opened his mouth wider than any normal human could have and released three of the longest pythons Sakura had ever seen. Each one had a sword in its mouth and they clashed with Sasori's puppets in a fanfare of steel clangs.

If she wasn't caught up right in the middle of the storm, Sakura may have been able to appreciate how Orochimaru was able to fight with his mouth snake sword _things_. For someone who could not perform jutsu in the conventional way, he seemed more than capable in battle.

Kabuto was busy dodging Sasori's puppet's attacks, which came at him with brutal force. Orochimaru's snakes hissed furiously as they dueled with their wooden foes. The bridge shook under the violent movements of its occupants, and Sakura grabbed a side rail for balance.

Suddenly, Sasori's puppets found an opening and slashed through all three of Orochimaru's snakes in one fell swoop. Two crash landed on the bridge while the other tumbled into the chasm below. Orochimaru sucked the severed snake torsos back into his mouth as if he were slurping up spaghetti. Sakura cringed and looked back over her shoulder at Sasori, who had not moved from his spot as he commanded his puppets from a distance. His expression was grim despite the small victory he'd gained. But that was to be expected; such a move could not possibly mean much against an opponent of Orochimaru's caliber.

"I suppose you've improved since we last saw each other," Orochimaru said. "But I know your attacks as well as you do, and I know their weaknesses."

"I know yours, too, _old friend_."

He didn't hesitate before launching his puppets once more, forcing Orochimaru to dodge as one struck the bridge where he'd been standing only a half a breath earlier, cracking the wooden planking and sending up a harsh rain of splinters.

There had to be a way out of this, Sakura thought to herself. Sasori was not pleased about Kabuto's betrayal, and he hated Orochimaru. He even told her that he wasn't here for her, which meant he probably wouldn't bother trying to stop her should she attempt to slip away. Unfortunately, she had no such security with the other two. It didn't escape her notice that Kabuto seemed to be trying to get past his own puppet opponent while shooting her suspicious looks. If he decided to attack her, there was no way she'd be able to make a clean getaway.

Kabuto swiped at the puppet with a chakra laden hand, but the puppet was agile. And just when it looked like he wouldn't overpower the wooden contraption, he landed a hit that smashed it to smithereens. Sakura thought she heard Sasori swear behind her.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was busy dodging the attacks of his own lifeless foes until one of them landed a punch to his face. The sound of flesh tearing reached Sakura's ears, but just as it appeared that Sasori had landed a solid hit, Orochimaru gripped the puppet's wrist and twirled with it in midair. Using the puppet's own momentum against it, he swung hard. The puppet collided with the metal railing and split in two, whereby the top half fell into the gorge and landed in the river below. Kabuto took the opportunity to rush to Orochimaru's aid. To Sakura's horror, he formed a fine chakra scalpel and cut the shimmering, blue threads animating Sasori's remaining puppet.

The wind picked up again and whipped Sakura's bangs. She had to squint to keep the dust out of her eyes. The sight of Orochimaru's torn facial skin made her feel queasy. There was a face—_someone else's face_—visible beneath his peeling, white visage.

"Well, it looks like you're out of puppets," Orochimaru said. Raising a hand up to cover his ruined face, he proceeded to do something that pulled the loose skin back together. "You look a bit haggard. I imagine it will take you some time before you're used to that body again."

Sakura frowned. What did he mean by that? She looked at Sasori out of the corner of her eye, who hadn't moved far from his original position. Her medically trained eye caught the way his shoulders slumped, as if he were very tired or low on chakra. His jaw was clenched, and Sakura imagined he would have been perspiring if he were able. But an artificial body would never shows signs of physical exhaustion. So why did he look so...?

"You're one to talk," Sasori said. "How long has it been since your last body transfer?"

"I appreciate your concern, but I assure you I am plenty capable of killing you." He paused, once more catching sight of Sakura. "And you, my dear."

For the umpteenth time that day, Sakura cursed her lack of foresight. Thus far, Kabuto and Orochimaru had not attacked her because they were too busy fending off Sasori's puppets. But now that that defense was gone, there was nothing standing in between her and the two Sound shinobi, not even Sasori.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru said. "Without his puppet armor, Sasori is extremely vulnerable to close range attacks. Why don't you do the honors?"

Kabuto smiled. "With pleasure."

He raced past Sakura, hands glowing with blue chakra, toward a now defenseless Sasori. The redhead glared at Kabuto and shot his hands out as if in a last ditch attempt to protect himself.

"Hhnngaahh!"

Sasori had somehow stopped him in his tracks using only his chakra strings!

"A good subordinate should kneel before his superiors," Sasori said as he forced Kabuto to kneel against his will.

"Let go of me!"

The sound of fabric rustling drew Sakura's attention back to Orochimaru, who had summoned another giant python from up his sleeve. Alarmed, Sakura watched as he bared his teeth in a sinister smile and shot his hand forward. The snake launched through the air straight for Sasori.

_Oh god..._

Sakura knew she had to act now. The snake hurtled across the bridge, closing in on the middle where Sakura and a paralyzed Kabuto still stood. He was attempting to break free of Sasori's chakra threads. What had Chiyo told her about the human puppet technique? Something about how the subject, if living, had to be either severely weakened or willing to be controlled for it to work. Kabuto was neither, but Sasori still managed to hold him rather effortlessly. Incredible as his skill was, Sakura wasn't comfortable betting that he would be able to maintain it and counter Orochimaru's incoming attack simultaneously.

Maybe if she'd had more time to think this through, she would have acted differently. But time was a luxury she could not afford at the moment, so she went with her gut and hoped she wasn't about to make the biggest mistake of her life.

_Here goes nothing._

Without further ado, Sakura summoned a healthy dose of chakra to her fist and punched the floor of the bridge with her superhuman strength. The familiar crunching of wood and metal succumbing to her raw power was almost comforting in spite of the situation. She barely had time to register the look of glee on Orochimaru's face as the rapidly disintegrating bridge gave out from underneath him and he had to jump backwards onto solid ground. His snake summon pulled back with him.

Sakura jumped backwards as well and landed on the ground to the left of Sasori, who had released his hold on Kabuto in the commotion. The Tenchi Bridge collapsed in on itself as if a bomb had dropped on it. The sound was deafening as it broke away under the dual forces of Sakura's fist and gravity until nothing was left but twisted metal foundation bars jutting out of both cliff faces.

Kabuto had managed to jump to safety just in time once Sasori released his jutsu. Now, Sasori and Sakura stood on one side of the crag while Orochimaru and Kabuto regrouped on the other. Silence reigned for a short moment while everyone regained their bearings.

Orochimaru broke the silence first with a throaty laugh. "How interesting! You are truly Tsunade-hime's apprentice with that strength. It seems we both found promising young students."

At the mention of Sasuke, Sakura felt her anger spike and she clenched glowing, blue fists. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that revolting smile off his face. There was little doubt in her mind that Orochimaru and Kabuto were the enemy. But they were also Sasori's enemies.

_The enemy of my enemy...is my friend._

She had no better option. If her choices were to die fighting or die hiding, she would make this fight one for the history books.

Softly so only she could hear, Sasori said, "Don't expect me to hold your hand like that worthless old hag did."

Sakura would normally have been offended by his disrespectful attitude toward his dead grandmother, but right now the itch to pound Kabuto and Orochimaru into next week was a little stronger. She turned enough to catch his eye. "I swear on her grave that I will haunt you for the rest of eternity if you let him kill me."

Sasori chuckled, which was not the reaction Sakura had been expecting. "Deal."

Then he reached behind his back and produced a storage scroll. The enlarged kanji for 'three' appeared as he unrolled it, and Sakura felt her jaw drop as she recognized it. A swift hand seal and puff of smoke later, Sakura was once more face to face with Sasori's favorite human puppet, the Third Kazekage.

"I smashed that puppet," she blurted out.

"And I repaired it. Now stop gawking and make yourself useful already."

She was at a complete loss for why Sasori was even standing here, clearly still alive, much less with his favorite puppet. Whatever the reason, she would have time to figure it out after they dealt with the mutual threat. That is, if they could even beat Orochimaru. Sakura wasn't even sure if she could count on Sasori not to turn around and stab her in the back with another poisoned katana while she was busy focusing on the Sound nin. But there was no time to worry about that now that she'd decided to side with Sasori against the other two in a battle that could very well be her last.

_The enemy of my enemy is my friend, _she repeated to herself. She only hoped Sasori shared her sentiments at the moment.

The sound of iron sand scraping against petrified skin signaled Sasori's initiation of his puppet's bloodline limit.

"So you're finally getting serious," Orochimaru said. He and Kabuto looked like they'd recovered from Sakura's little stunt. "Then I suppose I will, too."

Sasori said nothing as his iron sand began to mold into various geometric shapes. He jumped on top of an inverted pyramid, and he and his puppet took to the air. An iron column turned and aimed for Kabuto and Orochimaru's general direction.

"Enough talking. You know how I hate to drag things out," Sasori said from somewhere above her head.

"Indeed," Orochimaru said. He raised both hands out in front of him and released at least a dozen more giant pythons.

True to his word, Sasori wasted no time in sending iron blocks on a path of annihilation toward the two Sound shinobi. Orochimaru boarded his hoard of pet snakes and slithered about, narrowly avoiding the iron projectiles with more agility than Sakura thought possible for snakes to possess. When Sasori's iron sand missed its target, he recalled the blocks from the earth only to send them flying once more.

"Die!" Sasori shouted at his old partner.

Knowing that she would accomplish little just by standing there, Sakura leaped high into the air and landed on the nearest airborne iron block. She sent a burst of chakra to her feet and jumped again, this time landing on a floating iron column. All the while, she kept her eyes on Kabuto who picked up on what she was doing. He ran toward the woods on his side of the chasm, but Sakura finally made it to the other side and landed on the ground with a chakra infused foot. The earth beneath her screamed as it split in the wake of her induced earthquake.

A great crack followed Kabuto at alarming speed, and he was forced to take to the treetops as the world fell away beneath him. Nearby, Orochimaru had to change his own trajectory to avoid getting sucked into the force of Sakura's destruction. Sakura herself wasted no time in jumping after Kabuto as thick slabs of rock burst from the ground like fingers all around her.

Finally outrunning her own earthquake, Sakura caught up to Kabuto and swung a glowing blue fist at the juncture between his shoulder blades. She was mildly disappointed when he exploded into sawdust.

_Just a body switch..._

The crackling sound of chakra was her only warning as she ducked and jumped into a nearby tree to avoid Kabuto's chakra swipe. Crouched on a branch with the real Kabuto only two trees away, Sakura tried to compose herself. If he hit her with his glowing hand, she would suffer a nasty internal injury. It probably wouldn't be anything she couldn't heal as long as he didn't hit something vital, but it would set her back just enough to give him the desired opening, which would mean the end for her.

"It doesn't have to be like this," Kabuto said as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "If you really want to see Sasuke-kun, I could always bring you to him."

"Shut up, four eyes."

Kabuto smirked. "You always were sensitive when it came to Sasuke-kun."

Sakura didn't deign his taunting with a reply. Instead, she leaped toward him once more and they began a dance of quick jabs laced with lethal medical chakra. She had never faced Kabuto one on one like this before, but she knew how medical ninja fought. As long as she paid attention, she was able to gauge Kabuto's attacks before they hit and evade them just in time. Unfortunately, Kabuto had that same advantage as he dodged every one of her attacks.

"I'm impressed by your improvement in the last three years," Kabuto said as he avoided what would have been a fatal blow to his liver. "Medical ninja of our caliber are rare."

"Do not group us together!"

In her anger, Sakura was half a breath too late to avoid a graze from Kabuto's chakra to her left arm. She cried out in pain as she felt the muscles shred like tissue paper beneath her skin. But despite the pain in her now useless left arm, she managed to swipe at his ribcage with her right hand.

As if it were mutually agreed upon, both Sakura and Kabuto took the opportunity to jump away from each other and land in trees several meters apart. Through the leaves of her temporary sanctuary, Sakura watched as Kabuto grimaced and held the left side of his ribcage as if to staunch blood flow, even though Sakura knew the damage she'd caused was entirely internal. After wiping cold sweat from her brow, she used her good hand to heal the damage Kabuto had inflicted. Her upper left arm was fast turning purple from internal bleeding.

"I'm surprised Tsunade-sama taught you offensive medical ninjutsu." Kabuto's voice reached her ears as she continued to clot the blood from her injury and knit the muscles back together. "I always thought she preferred to relegate medical ninja to the sidelines to heal their teammates."

"She was thorough in her teachings," Sakura said, trying to calm her panting. "I'm not as incompetent as you seem to think."

"I never thought that at all. Truly, I'm very impressed with your abilities. Although, there is so much uncharted territory you haven't yet explored. You could be a far stronger medical ninja if you wanted to be."

Sakura ignored him and finished healing her arm. She'd managed to dissolve some of the escaped blood, but it still looked like she'd suffered a severe beating to the outside observer. "Save your empty compliments, Kabuto; they won't work on me."

An ear splitting _crack_ drew their attention suddenly as what Sakura recognized to be Sasori's Satetsu Kaihou rushed at them, felling trees and rearranging the landscape in its path. Sakura barely had time to curse as she leaped out of the way just in time to avoid death by bludgeoning.

"Orochimaru-sama," she heard Kabuto say as he took off in the direction of the iron sand's uneven path.

Alarmed, Sakura followed him to a newly made clearing covered in felled trees and upturned earth where the iron sand webbing had come to rest like a deadly jungle gym. Kabuto was crouched down somewhere in the middle of the network. Had Sasori seriously injured Orochimaru?

"I'm fine, Kabuto," came the eerie, hissing lilt of Orochimaru's voice.

Sakura felt the overwhelming urge to vomit a when a mutilated Orochimaru pulled himself up and opened his mouth impossibly wide. A white hand emerged and grabbed onto a bar of iron sand for leverage, followed by an arm and a head. She stared with arrested fascination as he spat himself up, good as new. The maimed shell he left behind disintegrated into snakes that proceeded to turn to ash.

"Even without your traditional arsenal, you can still manage those revolting snake based techniques."

Sakura saw Sasori crouched on the same inverted iron pyramid as before floating next to his Third Kazekage puppet, which had its own iron wings keeping it afloat. Unfortunately, the puppet looked visibly battered. Orochimaru must have hit it with something powerful before Sasori sent him fleeing into what used to be the woods.

"It's just a matter of time," Orochimaru said. "Your physical attacks cannot hurt me, you know that."

"We'll see about that."

Sasori fluttered his fingers and the Third Kazekage proceeded to release more chakra. Sakura watched as the Satetsu Kaiho dissolved and all the iron sand in the vicinity came together to form three gigantic spikes bigger than any Sasori had ever used against her in their battle.

Orochimaru laughed. "You never learn. I suppose I'll have to prove once more just how inferior you are to me."

He bit both of his thumbs and slammed the bloody appendages to the ground. "Kuchiyose: Sanju Rashomon."

Sakura watched in stunned silence as Kabuto and Orochimaru disappeared behind three looming demon gates. She had never seen something like this before, but they looked extremely fortified with their carved faces snarling down at her.

Sasori, meanwhile, was finishing creating his iron spikes that, while enormous, paled in comparison to the massive gates Orochimaru had conjured.

_Now what?_

As long as Kabuto and Orochimaru were on the other side of those gates, it was unlikely that she and Sasori would be able to hit them with their respective power attacks. Still, he launched the iron spikes at the first gate and they collided in a rain of sparks. The ground shook beneath Sakura's feet and she nearly lost her balance. Sasori's iron sand had only managed to dent the first gate.

"Damn him," he said.

Suddenly, Sakura had an interesting thought. "Hey, I have an idea."

He turned his full attention to her, and it did not escape her notice that he peered down at her over his nose in a somewhat patronizing way. It didn't help that he was floating a few feet above her head.

"But I'll need your help," she added, trying to ignore the way that look made her blood boil.

He narrowed honey eyes at her before letting out an irritated sigh, understanding what she wanted to do. "You have one chance."

Sakura could not believe she was asking an Akatsuki criminal miraculously back from the dead for help, but she couldn't see any way out of this without it. They had only one chance, as he'd said, and if they failed she imagined Kabuto and Orochimaru would take the opportunity to strike hard and true. She took a deep breath and drew as much chakra to her fists and feet as she could muster. Sasori was one step ahead of her and used some leftover iron sand to give her a floating stepping stone.

Sakura ran toward the small bit of iron sand and, using it as a springboard, launched herself high into the air at top speed. One of the three massive iron spikes flew just ahead of her as she closed in on the first dented gate.

"One!"

Sakura pulled back her fist and hit the back of one of the iron spike with all her might, sending it flying at the first gate at incredible velocity. The collision was deafening as the spike cracked the first gate, creating a large opening and revealing the untouched second gate behind it.

She touched down on another iron sand platform that had materialized beneath her feet and sprang forward again. Another iron spike zeroed in on the second gate as Sakura turned in midair so that she flew forward feet first.

"Two!"

The sole of her heeled boot kicked the spike with the full force of her chakra behind it and sent it smashing into the second demon gate. As with the first, this gate shuddered under the force of the impact and cracked. Spike and gate crumbled to the earth together, and Sakura once more leaped past it toward the third and final gate.

The last spike shot forward with Sakura hot on its tail. She panted but ignored the sweat plastering her bangs to her forehead and concentrated on the feel of the wind as she flew forward. When she was upon the final spike, she concentrated as much raw energy into her fist as she could and let loose.

"Three!"

The third gate exploded upon impact with a deafening _crack_. The heady rush of victory flooded her as she remembered just why she liked the rare times she got to fight on the front lines. Sakura felt herself losing momentum as she prepared to fall to the ground and land on her feet. Before her, a massive cloud of iron sand, dust, and debris from the decimated third gate billowed up in a furious vortex. She would have to pull back and regroup until Sasori caught up.

Suddenly, something smooth and cold as tempered steel wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides and making her gasp as all the air left her lungs. Sakura felt her body jerk forward as whatever was coiled around her hissed in her ear and tightened its grip.

She barely had time to appreciate the direness of her situation when something else wrapped around her over the snake and pulled her in the opposite direction, causing her to gag. When the dust and debris finally settled, Sakura opened her eyes to examine her situation.

Orochimaru had her in his clutches via several new snake summons that stretched out of his sleeve. They were hissing and spitting around her head. Over them, dozens of wooden arms and hands wrapped about her and tugged her away from the Sound shinobi.

"You two make a good team, I'll give you that," Orochimaru said. He looked pleased, and Sakura didn't trust him for a minute. "No one has ever broken through my Triple Rashomon before, not even Tsunade-hime. I'm starting to see why Sasori entrusted you with the location of today's meeting."

Sakura coughed as she tried in vain to suck some air into her lungs, but her bindings tightened around her as Orochimaru and Sasori played tug of war with her as the rope.

"I'm getting really tired of all the useless crap that comes out of your mouth," Sasori said.

"Let's end this, shall we? Kabuto."

Kabuto nodded and took off at a run. She could only watch in horrified silence as he summoned medical chakra to his hands and ran at her full tilt. She tried to move her hands to reach a kunai or an exploding tag—anything to use in her defense. But the snakes and the Third Kazekage's elongated appendages were too tight. Kabuto was almost upon her and Sakura knew that her time was up; she was going to die this time.

"Shit!"

Kabuto's curse snapped her out of it as she saw a large block of iron sand hit him in the side, sending him hurtling to the ground like a lifeless ragdoll. The block proceeded to land on Orochimaru's snakes, crushing their bodies and eliciting screams as they perished. Sakura felt her whole body contort in pain as the snakes squeezed harder just before relinquishing their hold. Then she was falling to the ground where, like Kabuto, she landed in an unceremonious pile of pain and labored breathing, further injuring herself.

But somehow, she was still alive.

Another iron pyramid rushed at Orochimaru, who was too slow to avoid it this time. Sakura watched through bleary eyes as his entire body disappeared under the mass of iron sand, flattened against the craggy earth and rock below. Finally, after the shock wore off, Sakura pulled herself up on her hands and knees and coughed up blood.

She searched for Sasori, who was now standing on the ground behind her, lips pressed in a thin line and honey eyes hard. He felt the weight of her eyes on him and they locked gazes. She opened her mouth to say something when all of a sudden the sound of rushing wind drew her attention. Without thinking, Sakura rolled to the left. Pain exploded in her side as the edge of a blade pierced her skin, leaving a deep gash. A fraction of a second later and it would have hit her in a vital organ.

Sakura gripped her injured flank and looked up to see Orochimaru, who had somehow escaped his iron prison unscathed. His neck was elongated at least thirty feet as he attacked from the air with a glowing, blue sword wielded entirely by his tongue. Was this guy even human?

Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet launched a hail of iron sand shapes to face off against Orochimaru's favorite blade, the legendary Kusanagi. But the sword was able to cut through the iron sand like butter as its wielder attempted to get close to Sasori. Once again, Sakura was amazed at how Orochimaru could fight so well without the use of traditional jutsu. She didn't think even Tenten could wield a weapon so well with only her tongue...

_Kabuto._

She looked around and saw that the other medic was also pulling himself up after the severe throttling Sasori's iron sand had dealt him. He'd somehow managed to heal himself in record time, which Sakura found incredible. As inconceivable as it seemed, it was almost as if he'd preemptively healed his injuries. If he was already recovered, he would probably come after her again or somehow help Orochimaru double-team Sasori.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to ignore the pain from her mounting injuries. This was nothing compared to the pain she'd felt when Sasori stabbed her clean through her spleen with a poisoned blade. Although grim, the thought bolstered her confidence and spurred her into action. The best way to end this battle now with her life still intact would be to interfere in Sasori and Orochimaru's fight. If Orochimaru were incapacitated, Kabuto would have no choice but to tend to him. At least, she hoped so.

She picked up speed and headed straight for where Orochimaru's sword jabbed and slashed at the Third Kazekage in an attempt to get past it and hit Sasori directly. Veering to the right a little, Sakura gave the blade a wide berth—it wasn't her target. Instead, using a bit of her remaining chakra to launch herself into the air, she reached out and grabbed Orochimaru's tongue with her bare hands!

A grunt of pain escaped her as she landed hard on the ground, slimy, purple tongue in hand, and took off at breakneck speed. Kusanagi slashed at her back in vain as Orochimaru tried to stop her mad dash. But Sakura was relentless. She swung Orochimaru's tongue like a whip, aiming for the ground in front of her. His head pulled back, anticipating a crushed skull should Sakura succeed in grounding him, but it only made things worse. She had to smile in morbid satisfaction at the sound of ripping flesh and the sight of tiny, red spots on the ground in front of her as Orochimaru's blood rained down from the sky. The now dismembered tongue fell to the earth as lifeless as a wet noodle, the sword of Kusanagi now inanimate.

For a moment strained silence settled over the razed clearing. The only sound Sakura could make out was her own labored breathing. Then she remembered she was still clutching Orochimaru's tongue and flung it from her as if it were the plague.

Sasori's laughter filled the air then, and Sakura was compelled to turn around. He looked pleased with this turn of events. Kabuto, who had recovered, rushed to Orochimaru's aid. The snake Sannin had retracted his neck so that he looked like a person again, and he was currently doubled over vomiting up a waterfall of blood.

"Orochimaru-sama, are you alright?" Kabuto asked as he knelt beside his master and began to assess him with his medical chakra.

The only sound that escaped Orochimaru's lips was a garbled mess of unintelligible groans; without a tongue, he could not hope to speak.

"Well, Orochimaru," Sasori said, walking closer to Sakura and the Sound shinobi. "You cannot say I didn't warn you this would happen."

_Very pleased, _Sakura decided, although she was not convinced that it was a good thing.

Kabuto was trying to staunch the alarming flow of blood from Orochimaru's mouth, but the snake man himself was shooting the most hateful look Sakura had ever seen on a living person at Sasori and herself. This injury may not kill him—not by a long shot—but it was beyond humiliating. More gurgling followed as Orochimaru tried in vain to produce coherent speech.

"Orochimaru-sama, we should withdraw. I need to heal you," Kabuto said.

"I don't think so," Sasori said, all traces of his prior amusement gone. He fluttered his fingers and the Third Kazekage sped forward, ready to finish the job.

But Kabuto was faster. "This isn't over," he said.

Sakura did not miss the knowing look he sent her. Kabuto performed a round of quick hand seals, and he and Orochimaru _poof_ed out of sight just before Sasori's puppet could close the distance to them. They were gone, leaving Sakura alone with Sasori.

"Coward," Sasori spat.

He then settled his gaze on Sakura, who was still rooted to the spot where she'd severed Orochimaru's tongue. She watched him with wide green eyes, unsure whether to feel relieved that they had won or terrified all over again now that he had no reason to ally himself with her.

"Sasori," she said, backing up a step and holding her side wound.

They looked each other over for a moment, and Sakura once again got the impression that he hardly looked like a puppet at all. He looked like a normal human shinobi who'd just survived a fight with one of the most dangerous men in the world—tired and low on chakra. He broke their mutual observation to appreciate the wanton destruction they and the Sound shinobi had left in the wake of their epic battle.

"Haruno Sakura, was it."

Sakura's eyes widened even more. This was the first time he'd ever addressed her by her name even though Chiyo had spoken it dozens of times during their last battle. It seemed he had been listening after all.

He ran a hand through battle-dirty, red hair before turning back to look at her properly. "It appears that I'm in your debt."

* * *

**Author's note: **Yes, I realize that some things about Orochimaru's abilities here are different from what happened in canon. I consciously deviated a bit while trying to maintain some of the actual canon events from his battle with Naruto as much as possible. I hope you enjoyed it regardless! Imagining this fight scene was what inspired me to write this fic, btw. :-)


	4. Faith

Zero Hour - Chapter 4: Faith  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." - Abraham Lincoln

* * *

A violent gale of wind rushed past them, whipping up a hail of leaves and iron sand. Sakura tried to absorb the words she never thought she'd hear from this man's lips for as long as she lived, which until a few minutes ago was 'not much longer'. Sasori continued to look at her even when she blinked a couple of times. She really wasn't hearing things, then.

"Why?"

"In my current state, I would not have overpowered them alone," he said flatly.

Sakura tilted her head, some of her previous apprehension and fear that they were alone replaced by curiosity.

"Your current state...?"

"Are you blind or just slow?"

Perhaps if he had been anyone but Sasori, she would have snapped at him. The uncertainty of her safety at the moment, however, made her bite her tongue. She raised a hand to heal the gash left by Kusanagi. "Then...you're really human."

"Yes."

Sakura was completely baffled. She'd suspected as much since he first showed up, but logic told her that that was ludicrous. Then again, it was just as remarkable that he was here at all. She decided to go with it for now.

"How is that possible?"

"Because I plan ahead."

Sakura finished healing her surface abrasion and moved on to her bruised and fractured ribs. "That doesn't make any sense. You _died._"

Sasori didn't respond right away. He produced the storage scroll for his Third Kazekage puppet and, after gathering up all the iron sand, stored it once more. About ten minutes had passed in the meantime, and Sakura finished healing herself. At this point, she was dangerously low on chakra.

"Only a part of me died that day."

Sakura shook her head, totally perplexed. The way he was talking made it sound like...like there were two of him or something! She gasped, realizing that that must be it. Somehow, she wouldn't put it past someone like him.

"So the one we killed, that puppet... It was just a puppet after all? And this is your human form."

"I see you're not as slow as you look, after all." He turned to face her fully.

Once again, Sakura decided to ignore the slight and press him for more information. "It still doesn't answer my question. How is it possible for you to have two bodies?"

He let his honey gaze linger on her, as if weighing whether he should respond and what he should reveal if he did. "I suppose you would be interested, being a medical ninja. A long time ago, I split my life force and imbued half of it in the puppet you killed ten days ago."

Sakura's mind was reeling. She didn't think such a thing was even possible. The only time she'd ever heard of someone even accessing their life force was when Chiyo healed her and brought Gaara back to life.

"So that kill was totally meaningless," she thought aloud. "We might as well have let you get away."

"No, it wasn't. You killed that part of me, and once life force is used up or destroyed, it cannot be recovered."

If that were true, then that meant Sasori had lost years off of his potential natural life span. And yet, he seemed quite casual about the whole ordeal, like it was merely a minor setback, if even that.

"Are you...okay?" She wasn't concerned about him, but she certainly would _not _be okay if she were in his shoes.

"I'm _flattered_ by your misplaced concern."

"Absolutely not," Sakura retorted, forgetting some of her earlier apprehension. "Not for the likes of you."

"Bold words seeing as you're only alive now because of me."

"And you're only alive because of _me_. Which reminds me. You said something about being in debt to me."

Sasori narrowed his eyes at her dangerously and a familiar fear gripped her. If he tried to attack her now, weakened or no, she was too spent to fight back much. He could definitely kill her and she wouldn't even see it coming.

He spoke clearly and deliberately. "Ah. Regardless of your opinion of me or our past differences, I always pay my debts. So what do you want?"

Well, that was a little forward, she thought. How on earth was she supposed to decide something like this on the spot? What could she even ask of Akasuna no Sasori? Go off and die so she could cross him out of the Bingo book for good this time? Somehow she didn't think that was a viable option. Sakura was certain there was nothing she _wanted _from him. In fact, she didn't even want anything to _do_ with him. It was bad enough that he was still alive.

"I don't want anything."

"Everyone wants something," he said with an unreadable look in his eyes as he watched her. "Even if they don't know what it is yet."

"Well, there's nothing I would ever want from _you_. Just leave me alone." Sakura backed up a bit with every intention of getting the hell out of there.

"So you can lord this over me in the future? I don't think so." He advanced on her.

Her fear spiked as Sakura saw him approach her purposefully.

"I-I don't _want_ anything," she entreated him.

He stopped then, and when he spoke Sakura almost fancied that he'd lost some of the steel from his tone. "Call it what you want, but every debt must be settled with something of equal value to keep the balance. Otherwise, you run the risk of one day owing much more than you can pay."

"So you just don't want to feel like you owe me anything in case I come to collect interest somewhere down the line," she said, understanding. How incredibly selfish. "Why not just forget about it? An Akatsuki like you could get away with it."

"I'm no longer with Akatsuki. And there are many who would consider you lucky to have this kind of opportunity, whether you can appreciate it or not."

_Yeah, right._

There was absolutely nothing lucky about this situation. Sakura could not for the life of her think of anything this man could do for her other than let her leave with her life. Although, she could understand a little why he didn't want to be indebted to her, of all people.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to reign in her fear. "But I can't think of anything."

"Then I will decide for you."

Sakura did not like the sound of that at all. Without considering the potential ramifications of her words, she lifted her chin and and said, "If you come anywhere near Konoha or threaten any Leaf shinobi, I will see you dead for good this time."

All of a sudden, she felt something warm and prickly closing around her windpipe. Panic gripped her as she felt her neck, but there was nothing there. Sasori was standing only a couple of feet from her, his fingertips glowing blue. When realization hit Sakura found herself more angry than afraid. It was the same feeling she had at the end of her battle with Sasori when he was slandering Chiyo.

"Be careful about how you speak to me, Sakura," he said softly. There was nothing soft about his tone or the look in his eyes, though.

"I hate you," she whispered through gritted teeth.

He smirked and closed the distance between them until their noses were only an inch apart. Lightly, so much so that she only barely registered that he was even doing it, his fingers found the ends of her hair. Sakura felt his warm breath against her skin as his pretty honey eyes bore into hers. She wanted nothing more than to rip those eyes out with her bare hands and feel his blood on her fingers.

"I don't care about your hatred."

He was so close that, had he been a friend, she might have thought that he was about to kiss her. Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Careless of the consequences, she pulled her fist back and swung hard at his stomach. He'd anticipated this, however, and evaded her fist entirely as he jumped backwards and released the chokehold. She instinctively rubbed her neck, but there was no physical evidence of the almost strangling other than the tight feeling in her throat.

"Until we meet again," he said, the steel back in his voice. He disappeared the same way Orochimaru and Kabuto had previously.

Sakura stood there for a good minute trying to make sense of what had just happened. Then she remembered to breathe as she let herself slump a bit, exhausted.

"I'm still alive," she whispered to herself.

_For now._

* * *

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama."

"You're _sorry?_ Shizune, did you hear that? Sakura says she's _sorry_."

"It was a necessary risk that ended up producing valuable intelligence—"

Tsunade slammed her fist on her wide oaken desk, effectively cracking it as if it were nothing more than a brittle rice cake. The wood moaned a bit as it crumpled to the floor under mountains of unsigned documents, paperweights, and who knew how many paper clips.

"Are you even seeing the state of your arm?" she shouted loud enough for passersby to hear if the office hadn't been soundproofed. "Do you even realize what would have happened if Kabuto had hit your heart?"

Sakura felt her shame burning her neck and cheeks, but she held her head high. It was worth the risk if it meant knowing Sasuke's current location. "I _am _sorry, Tsunade-sama, but I would do it again if I had to. This may be our only chance to retrieve Sasuke."

"Sakura," Shizune said. "Even if that's true, you still took a wholly unnecessary risk. Why didn't you just tell Tsunade-sama about Sasori's intel when you returned to Konoha?"

It stung so badly to know that she'd let down the two women in her life she looked up to as if they were her own flesh and blood. But they could not understand why Sakura had taken on this burden alone. They could never understand how Sakura _had _to help Naruto keep his promise.

"Don't look at me like that, Sakura," Tsunade said. "I know why you did it. You're not the only one who was abandoned by a teammate."

Sakura blinked at her mentor as she absorbed the complete one-eighty in Tsunade's temperament. The idea of the Hokage having gone through something akin to what Sakura was going through now with Sasuke was shocking. After all, Sakura knew that Tsunade was referring to Orochimaru, the man who'd nearly killed her only the other day.

She did not want to think about any potential similarities between Sasuke and a villain like Orochimaru.

"Besides, this isn't about that damned Uchiha," Tsunade continued. "It's about you obviously not prioritizing your own safety. You could have _died_."

It was too much. Tsunade was furious with her, but not so much because she'd lied and taken a huge risk as much as because Sakura could have paid the price with her life. Sakura hung her head as the shame finally overpowered her.

"You're lucky you only encountered Kabuto. Orochimaru would not have hesitated to kill you."

"Yes," Sakura said numbly.

She didn't tell them that Orochimaru had, in fact, been there. She also left out the part about Sasori miraculously being back from the dead. The last thing she wanted to do was worry the Hokage any further when she didn't even know what to expect from here on out. Best to keep this as simple as possible and save herself the unnecessary trouble, Sakura decided. It wasn't as if she was hurting anyone by keeping those minor details to herself. The most important thing was to relay the intel on Sasuke, which she did.

"Tsunade-sama and I are just concerned, Sakura," Shizune said with infinite more calm than their master. "Did you stop to think about how everyone would feel if you hadn't been able to escape Kabuto?"

She hadn't thought about that, truthfully. Now, she saw how totally unfair and selfish her actions had been. Naruto and Kakashi would never have forgiven her if she'd been killed. If it hadn't been for her decision to ally with Sasori...

"I'm suspending you from all missions until further notice," Tsunade said. "You will be confined to the hospital as the interim chief of surgery while Shizune is out of the village."

"Why will Shizune be out of the village?"

"Because she'll be taking your place as head field medic on all future missions until I say otherwise."

Sakura blanched.

"Naturally, this means you'll be responsible for all of her administrative duties, too. You can start by cleaning up my office and getting me a new desk. I have a meeting in two hours with the Elder Council, and I expect to have something to glare at them over."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "But Tsunade-sama, we have to retrieve Sasuke before they change bases again."

Tsunade fixed her with an icy glare that turned her blood to ice. "Yes, that's true. Which is why I'll be sending Naruto with temporary teammates in place of you and Kakashi."

_No..._

"But Tsunade-sama—"

"I'm sorry, did I give the impression that this decision was up for debate? Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Sakura. You're due for Shizune's shift tonight, so I suggest you get started on cleaning up this mess."

Sakura was furious and ashamed and totally at a loss for words. There was clearly no way out of this if Shizune's slightly sympathetic glance was any indication.

"Come on, Shizune," Tsunade said as she marched past Sakura toward the door. "I need your help putting together a new Team Kakashi."

Shizune followed Tsunade out of the office, but not before sparing Sakura one last forlorn glance. The door closed behind them with a heavy _click, _and Sakura was alone in the disheveled office. Papers were strewn about on every available surface and Tsunade's desk was in pieces. There was no use complaining about her situation, she realized. No matter what, when the Hokage was in one of her moods she could not be swayed. Giving into the urge to groan, Sakura approached the dilapidated desk remains and began the tedious job of cleaning up Tsunade's office.

* * *

"I'm _not_ working with this asshole!"

Sakura looked up from her task of organizing some manila envelopes in an accordion folder to see none other than Naruto burst through the doors to the Hokage's office tailed by a dark-haired boy she didn't recognize. When it became apparent that Tsunade was not in the office, he noticed Sakura in the corner and immediately turned on her.

"Sakura-chan! Listen, where's Tsunade-baa-chan? I need to tell her to take this creep off my team."

Sakura frowned and looked between Naruto and the boy she didn't know. He noticed her gaze and smiled brightly. For some reason, the smile gave Sakura the shivers.

"Uh, sorry Naruto, but Tsunade-sama's not here right now and I don't have the authority to make or break teams. Who are you?" she asked, turning to the dark haired boy.

"Sai," he said, reaching out a hand to shake.

Sakura peered at the offered hand and hesitated a moment before taking it. He was attractive, she found herself thinking. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin and a clear complexion... He reminded her of Sasuke.

"Wait a minute, did you say that he's on your team?" Sakura said, turning back to Naruto. "As in, the team to retrieve Sasuke?"

"Yeah," Naruto grumbled, as if he'd forgotten this and was unfortunately reminded. "Hey, maybe you can convince Baa-chan to end your house arrest and we can go together without this guy?"

Sakura glared at her teammate. "Naruto, you're being awfully rude."

"It's alright," Sai said, still beaming. "I understand that women have a certain time of the month when they act mean for no reason."

Sakura blinked, mouth slightly ajar and not sure if she'd heard right. Naruto snapped her out of it.

"What did you say, asshole?" he yelled, whirling on Sai and getting right in his face. "Are you implying that I'm some PMS-ing chick?"

"I didn't imply anything. I said it outright," Sai clarified.

Naruto swung a fist at his face, which Sai expertly evaded with seemingly little effort. "If you want to spar, we should probably take this outside."

Sakura just gaped at Sai and Naruto as they faced off, unsure whether to be angry at Sai for insulting Naruto's manhood or at Naruto for insulting the female gender. She cracked her knuckles menacingly, making Naruto wince and his fury pitter out.

"Naruto," she said threateningly.

Naruto turned and smiled sheepishly. "Ah, Sakura-chan, you know what I said before was just out of thoughtless anger."

"Yes, it's perfectly alright," Sai said. "This behavior will pass in a matter of days, I'm told."

Sakura whirled on Naruto's, and by extension her, new teammate. "What is your problem?"

Sai's smile faltered and he looked at her curiously. "Is there a problem?"

Sakura frowned. There seemed to be something very off about this guy.

"Hey, idiot," Naruto whispered to Sai. "You better say something nice to her or she'll pound you into the ground."

Sai seemed to consider this for a second before smiling with renewed vigor. "Of course. I understand that you are the other member of Team Kakashi," he began. "But you won't be joining us in our upcoming mission because you lied to the Hokage and nearly got yourself killed."

Sakura felt the blood in her veins turn to liquid fire as anger began to take hold. "Excuse me," she said softly, the anger threatening to boil over.

Naruto, recognizing the telltale warning signs of Sakura's explosive fury, tried to rectify the situation. "Hey, Sakura-chan, why do you and I go get some lunch or something before I leave for the mission? We can ditch this guy!"

Sakura and Sai ignored him.

"Your face looks uglier now than it did before you scrunched it up like that. Is your forehead always that big, or is it just because of your ponytail?" Sai asked.

That was it. Sakura walked up to Sai and smiled sweetly—too sweetly, if Naruto's horrified whimper was any indication. Just as Sai was about to say something, Sakura pulled her fist back and let him have it right in the kisser. Sai stumbled backwards and fell on his rear with a loud _thump. _Sakura glared bloody daggers down at him.

"Don't smile like that when you're insulting someone, you creep," she said.

Sai looked up at her with wide eyes, rubbing his jaw where her fist had connected. He had not been expecting violence from her, especially when she'd seemed pleased with his honest opinion of her appearance. Girls liked honesty, he'd read. Belatedly, he thought she had the best right hook he'd ever encountered even among the Root ANBU. He smirked faintly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I see now that a smile like yours can be fake. I didn't mean to give offense."

"My ass," Sakura grumbled under her breath.

"Anyway," Naruto said, now reassured that Sakura had blown off enough steam and that Sai might have finally gotten the hint to shut the hell up. "Ramen?"

"Yeah, whatever," Sakura said. "Not like I've got anything better to do around here."

Sai ended up tagging along with them, and Sakura didn't really care either way. Naruto seemed to be in a much better mood now that Sakura had joined them, so they didn't object to the newcomer's presence even though Naruto had previously been about as eager to get away from him as one would a diseased rodent. Sakura vaguely thought this was not a bad way to think about Sai who, as she had quickly found out, had a bit of a social problem. He just didn't _get_ it.

"Not that I'm not psyched that we've got a lead, but you should have told me about Sasori's information in the first place. I owe Kabuto a good beating," Naruto said between slurps of ramen.

Sakura, unable to keep up with Naruto's pace no matter how hungry she was, poked at her noodles. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore. I got the information we needed, so let's just leave it at that."

Naruto had confronted her about her unauthorized solo mission the minute she'd finished cleaning out Tsunade's office when she got back. He'd been fraught with worry over her well being, and the sight of her badly bruised upper arm did nothing to calm his nerves. Sakura told him exactly what she'd told Tsunade, and Naruto had only been concerned about her safety. She'd been struck by the same feeling of shame and guilt as when Tsunade had reprimanded her, apologizing for acting rashly. She _had _acted rashly, now that she thought about it.

Still, Sasori had given his information to _her, _not Naruto. It was her mission to take, and it was her responsibility to do what she could to alleviate Naruto's burden to bring Sasuke back. More than anything, she wanted to be useful to Naruto and Sasuke, an asset to Team 7.

"I would do it again if it meant getting the information," she added, resolved.

"I know. I really love that about you, Sakura-chan. You never give up on a teammate."

"Why do you both chase after Uchiha Sasuke? Isn't he a traitor to the village?"

Naruto and Sakura, having all but forgotten about Sai sitting to Naruto's right, both turned on the silent shinobi. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sai but didn't lash out. He had enough respect for old man Ichiraku not to start a commotion in his small shop.

"Sasuke is first and foremost our teammate and friend, and friends don't give up on each other no matter what," he said icily. "That's not something I would expect a guy like you to understand."

Sai seemed to think on this for a moment before shrugging. "That's...unexpected."

"Don't you have someone you care about?" Sakura asked, trying not to get angry again. "Someone you would do anything for? Even if they did something reprehensible, you'd still stand up for them?"

Sai looked at her with an unreadable expression, no longer smiling. She stared back, wondering what he could be thinking about, when he broke their staring contest.

"No, I don't."

Sakura blinked and Naruto scoffed, mumbling something about 'I told you so'. They all returned to their meals in silence until Ayame came around to offer Naruto a free refill on noodles, which he enthusiastically accepted.

Sakura watched Sai out of the corner of her eye. Something about him bothered her, but she couldn't exactly place what it was. She only hoped that he and Naruto wouldn't kill each other on the mission to retrieve Sasuke. It was somewhat reassuring that Shizune would be going with them, according to Naruto's intel.

Sai didn't say anything more for the rest of the meal, and Sakura watched him leave after sticking Naruto and her with the bill. Naruto shouted a colorful array of insults at the newcomer, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke after reminding Naruto to meet at the gates in an hour. She wondered what it must be like not to have someone to care about. What would a person with no friends or loved ones turn out like?

Perhaps they would turn out like Sai. What that meant for Naruto's impending mission, she could not say.

"I don't like this, Sakura-chan."

"What?"

"It's like he's a replacement for Sasuke or something. I don't like it, and I definitely don't like _him."_

Sakura squeezed Naruto's hand reassuringly. "Just get through this mission. Kakashi-sensei should be up and about by the time you guys get back, and then it'll be just us again."

"Plus Sasuke. I'm bringing him back this time. I _have _to."

Sakura tried not to let her smile falter. She sincerely hoped nothing would go awry on this mission, but somehow things had a way to taking a turn for the worst when she least expected them. Wherever Sasuke was, she was sure Orochimaru would be close by. The last time she'd seen the snake man, he'd been hopping mad at having lost his tongue. The new Team Kakashi could be in for more trouble than they were expecting. Then again, Naruto had an uncanny knack for facing trouble head on and always coming back to brag about it.

"Just make sure _you _get back this time," she said, linking their arms to walk him back to his apartment to get ready for the mission.

* * *

"What do you mean he's 'creepy'?"

Sakura sighed as she set down a patient chart and fixed her full attention on her blonde best friend. "I don't know. He just had this fake smile, like he didn't know how to smile for real."

"Well, he's shinobi," Ino said matter-of-factly. "If he's as socially inept as you say, maybe I should flag him for Ibiki-sensei. He's always looking for fresh meat for the department."

"Ew, I did not need to hear that."

Ino grinned. "I still don't get how you can be a doctor and squirm over a little torture."

"It's inhumane. Frankly, I think the entire practice ought to be eliminated."

"Well, I'm not exactly arguing with you. It's not like I need pins and needles to extract information."

Sakura shuddered. "Torture of the mind can be just as inhumane, you know."

Ino waved her off. "And this is why you're good at playing doctor and not apprenticing with Ibiki. If shinobi are one thing, it's efficient."

They lapsed into a brief silence as Sakura made some notes on a patient's chart.

"So," Ino said suddenly, her tone becoming a bit more devious. "How was fighting Kabuto? Must have been one hell of a match."

She'd told her blonde best friend about the skirmish with Kabuto because Ino had been the one to patch up her battered arm. Ino had been worried and a little angry at Sakura, but she hadn't really given the pink-haired girl a hard time. Sakura was back in one piece, and that was what mattered most.

Sakura smiled a little. The fight with Kabuto had been her most invigorating fight since...well... "Yeah, you could say that. I think we were fairly evenly matched, to be honest."

"Don't get cocky now. You're good, but you're not _that _good," Ino said, smirking.

Sakura flicked her pen at Ino. "I'm good _enough_."

"Yeah, yeah. Well _I _definitely would not have been able to face someone like Kabuto head on with only medical ninjutsu. Even Tsunade-sama said he was pretty incredible."

"Yeah," Sakura said, remembering how Naruto had told her about his encounter with Kabuto when he and Jiraiya went to retrieve Tsunade three years ago.

Still, she would not have been able to best Kabuto without Sasori there to keep Orochimaru occupied and preempt several attempts on Sakura's life. She twisted her mouth in distaste at the thought of Sasori having come to her rescue in a warped sense. Talk about the ultimate anti-hero...

"What's bothering you?" Ino said casually.

Sakura snapped her eyes to her friend, noticing that she was getting The Look from Ino. Schooling her expression, Sakura cursed herself for letting her thoughts reflect on her face. If Ino was one thing, she was damn good at reading others and hiding her suspicions. Sakura supposed it was the all the time she was spending with Morino Ibiki recently that had contributed to that particularly annoying new skill.

"Nothing, just thinking about how many hours I'm going to have to spend here tonight," Sakura said fluidly.

Ino narrowed her eyes at her best friend. "Uh-huh."

"Don't look at me like that."

Ino backed off. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that you've been acting a little off since you got back." She paused, studying Sakura. "But I guess you're just overwhelmed with Tsunade-sama's punishment."

"Yeah, well," Sakura said, recovering. "I'm bummed that I'm not on that mission with Naruto to retrieve Sasuke."

Ino waved her off. "Yeah, I get it. But don't worry. If anyone can bring Sasuke back, it's Naruto. Just sit tight for now."

Sakura had to keep her face from falling. _That's exactly the problem._

"Anyway, I've got a few more rounds to do before I head out. Neji's taking me to dinner tonight," Ino said with a smile.

Despite herself, Sakura felt a small pang of jealousy. It would be really nice to have a boyfriend who genuinely cared about her, she thought. In all her life, Sakura had never been on the receiving end of any romantic intentions that were neither obnoxious nor horrifying.

But she was genuinely happy for Ino. As far as Sakura was concerned, romance was not a competition between them. It hadn't been since Sasuke had turned traitor, and even then they both recognized years later what folly it had all been.

"Don't worry about it," Sakura said, reaching for Ino's clipboard. "I'll do them for you. Go home and get ready. I know you take forever."

Ino blinked and smiled brightly before hugging Sakura. "You're the best, Forehead."

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I have anything else to do for the foreseeable future," she grumbled, trying but failing to bite back a grin as Ino released her.

"Don't worry. Even though you're grounded for the time being, it doesn't mean we can't make the best of it. Think of it as a mini vacation," Ino said, shrugging off her lab coat and going to hang it up in the closet.

"Vacation? Yeah, right. The chief of surgery is no slack job. I think that might have been Tsunade-sama's intention, actually."

Ino waved her off again. "Stay positive, Sakura. You never know what's going to happen."

"Easy for you to say. You're dating one of the best looking guys in the whole village."

"I know, right?" Ino said, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically.

"Please don't make me throw up before I do your rounds."

Ino rolled her eyes. "I owe you one. See you later."

"See you."

Ino left and Sakura was alone in the nurses' lounge. Sighing, she decided to get the rounds over with so she could move onto waiting for any emergencies or critical surgeries or _anything _that didn't involve paperwork.

_What I wouldn't give for a good limb reattachment operation right about now..._

The rounds were quiet and uncomplicated, as was to be expected. Most patients checked into the hospital overnight were injured grievously or ill enough to be sleeping or comatose. It was quick and easy work checking up on them and administering medications wherever applicable, but it was incredibly boring. The most exciting thing she'd seen today was a Chuunin who'd come in poisoned by something. Sakura hadn't recognized the poison as one from the hospital's database, and in any case poisoning was uncommon on most days. But it had a similar composition to other known poisons, making scrounging up an antidote child's play for a medic of Sakura's caliber. The young ninja recovered and left without a hitch, and Sakura had gone back to being bored.

All the downtime allowed for her mind to wander. And of course, it wandered right where she didn't want it going. She reflected on her most recent dance with death. Pausing a moment, she shivered at an imaginary rush of wind as she recalled the way Orochimaru glared daggers at her and Sasori as he tried in vain to talk through his bleeding tongue, or what was left of it. She looked at her bare hands, palms slightly rough with calluses and knuckles riddled with small scars from punching too many hard surfaces. The memory of Orochimaru's ultimate defense shattering like glass under the combined force of her strength and Sasori's iron sand made her smirk a little.

Yes, it had been her most invigorating battle since she'd fought Sasori himself.

That thought promptly wiped the smirk from her face. The memory of his promise to repay the debt he owed her made her grip her pen hard enough that it nearly burst. What did he mean by that? He'd told her he would decide for her, but did that mean she hadn't seen the last of him? That thought did not sit well with her at all. He was the enemy despite their temporary alliance against Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"_I'm no longer with Akatsuki."_

He had said that, now that she thought about it. She wondered why she hadn't asked him more about that when they were face to face.

_Oh, yeah. I was scared out of my mind._

If Sasori was no longer with Akatsuki, if she could even believe as much, what was he doing? She couldn't think of why he wouldn't go back to Akatsuki, but she also couldn't imagine what he'd gain from lying to her about his current affiliation. It wasn't like she was going to hunt him down either way. She wanted nothing more to do with him.

Still...

He'd saved her life by virtue of showing up at the right moment. Twice. There was little doubt in Sakura's mind that she would be very dead right now had it not been for Sasori. He could have killed her after Orochimaru and Kabuto departed, but he didn't. She'd even convinced herself for a moment that he would when he had her in a chokehold, and yet he'd refrained, as if he'd planned on sparing her all along despite her little outburst. Why?

_Why am I still alive?_

Sakura involuntarily raised a hand to her neck where his chakra strings had threatened to squeeze the life out of her. It disturbed her to think about him like this; he should have been dead and gone that day in River Country, and yet he had somehow revived himself—as a human, no less—and involved her in something she suspected was much bigger than either of them. And no matter how much she tried to reassure herself that they were over and she was free of him now that she was safe back in Konoha, something told her that she hadn't seen the last of Akasuna no Sasori.

In her mental conflict, Sakura just now realized that she'd come upon a room at the end of the hallway in the overnight ward. She hadn't meant to wander this far, but now that she was here she smiled a little. Letting herself in and closing the door behind her, Sakura turned to see Kakashi lying peacefully in the bed. She could have shaken her head at how strange it was to see him actually relaxing in a hospital instead of making every attempt to break out like a convict.

"Rough day, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked, realizing that he must have woken the minute she opened the door. Even worn out and more vulnerable than usual, the Copy Ninja was as sharp as ever.

"More like a rough week," she said, closing the distance to his bed.

"It looks like you healed up nicely," he said, indicating her arm.

Sakura winced, knowing he would have something to say to her about her recent excursion. "Kakashi-sensei, I—"

"You already know what I'm going to say, Sakura. And I hope that in the future, if you are ever presented with a similar situation, you will make a better decision."

He didn't sound angry or condescending, but knowing that he was disappointed in her was punishment enough. She respected Kakashi immensely and had always wanted his approval, especially when he'd prioritized Sasuke and later Naruto over her. She felt like she wanted to prove her worth to him.

"It's alright, Sakura," he said, his tone a little lighter. "I understand your reasons, and what's most important is that you're here now, alive and well. At least I don't have to suffer this dreadful place alone."

Sakura sighed in relief. "I see how it is. You're probably thrilled that I'm on forced leave so you can commiserate."

"Misery loves company, as they say."

"The hospital's not that bad," she said flatly.

Kakashi levelled her with a stare that said is was that bad and more. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"In any case, the team Tsunade-sama sent after Sasuke might just be the death of Naruto," she said, making conversation.

"Oh?"

"Sai, the one who's replacing Sasuke," Sakura said. "He's... Well, there's something strange about him. I can't really place it, but he sort of gave me a weird vibe."

"Sai," Kakashi repeated. "The one from Root."

"He's from Root?" Sakura had not been aware of this.

"Mm, yes," Kakashi said contemplatively.

Sakura blinked at her old teacher. He was definitely hiding something. "What is a Root agent doing on our team?"

Kakashi looked for all intents and purposes the casually inquisitive bystander. "Well, Root trains some of the best shinobi, even among the elites. He may be a bit odd, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Shizune took your place temporarily and my old friend Tenzou is team captain in my place. Naruto will be just fine."

"Kakashi-sensei, I trust your judgment but I have to tell you that there was something seriously off about Sai. It was like he didn't have any clue how to react to people, like he'd never had a normal conversation before."

"Yes well, that's what Root does to you," he said. "The Root ANBU are trained to be the perfect soldiers. And the perfect soldier can't be hindered by emotions."

Sakura thought that sounded absolutely appalling, not to mention impossible. All people had emotions, whether they liked it or not. Even the trained killers had feelings. Even someone like Sasori, who'd presented a front cold enough to freeze mercury, had shown his emotions during the fight against Orochimaru. He clearly hated the guy, and probably for good reason as far as Sakura was concerned. Even anger was an emotion passionately felt, she reasoned.

"I just hope Naruto will be okay," she said.

Kakashi's lone visible eye danced with the effect of a concealed smile. "Naruto always pulls through. You know how he is."

They chatted for a bit longer about unimportant goings-on as Sakura filled Kakashi in on some local news he'd missed while pent up in the hospital. During a pause in her chatter, Kakashi interrupted and threw her off guard.

"You know, I'm a bit surprised that you encountered Kabuto alone. From what I know, he stays by Orochimaru's side constantly. It's strange that he came to meet you alone at the bridge, don't you think?"

Sakura felt her blood freeze in her veins as she willed herself not to choke.

_Damn him._

She should have known that Kakashi would be suspicious of her cover story. But still, there was no way for anyone to find out the truth about what had happened that day. And there was no harm in keeping it a secret.

"Well like I said, he was supposed to be Sasori's spy and working against Orochimaru. So of course he wouldn't have shown up with Orochimaru."

"Yes, of course, but there's just something that keeps bothering me about that. You said that Kabuto had betrayed Sasori to Orochimaru long ago. If that were the case, then why wouldn't Orochimaru have accompanied him? Had Sasori gone to meet Kabuto that day, Kabuto surely would not have stood a chance against him. It seems a bit odd for someone as smart as Kabuto to put himself in deliberate danger like that."

Sakura was silently cursing whatever gods had plagued her with the sharpest teacher in the whole Leaf village. Why couldn't he just let well enough alone? Sakura had always been an abysmal liar, and Kakashi knew this.

"Honestly, I didn't stick around long enough to make small talk with Kabuto. And I'm back, alive and well like you said. I doubt Orochimaru would have let me return in one piece if he'd been there," she said.

_Please just believe me, _she entreated him silently.

Kakashi watched her carefully and Sakura knew instinctively that he knew she wasn't divulging the whole truth. But when she was the only eyewitness and no real harm had come of the whole ordeal, who was he to argue? The suspicion would seem unwarranted to the point of a personal attack.

"Of course, Sakura. I can't imagine that you would have been able to fend off both Orochimaru and Kabuto alone and live to tell about it. I didn't mean to interrogate you."

"It's alright. I kind of just want to put it all behind me and focus on things here for the time being," she said.

They conversed a little more before a nurse came by and told Kakashi that the time for chattering was over. He was still recovering and needed his rest, she said in a clipped tone. Sakura smiled sheepishly at the middle-aged nurse, promising to leave and return to her rounds so that Kakashi could rest.

"And you wonder why I can't stand this place," Kakashi grumbled.

"Oh, cut it out," Sakura said, playfully swiping at his upper arm. "She's right, though. I'd say a couple more days and you should be free to leave."

"Make it one and I'll treat you to lunch."

"Deal," she said, smirking. "But not until Naruto gets back. You can treat both of us"

Kakashi gripped his heart in mock tragedy, prompting Sakura to laugh. "I'm holding you to it, Kakashi-sensei."

"Yes, yes," he said, waving her off.

Sakura smiled at him and excused herself from the room. It didn't much surprise her that a large male orderly had been stationed just outside Kakashi's room to ensure that any plans for escape would be preemptively foiled.

Returning to her tiny office, Sakura decided to pass the rest of her late shift reorganizing files that had already been organized. A slow day at the hospital was worse than the most brutal training session. At least the training gave her something to do.

A glance at the clock told her it was close to 9 pm. Ino must be having a great time on her date with Neji, she thought. Only three more hours until her shift was up, Sakura thought with no small degree of despair. Longing for a distraction, she let her mind wander as she ran through the rather mundane task of organizing her already organized office.

Her thoughts wandered back to Sasori. She just could not shake the small but noticeable feeling of trepidation when she thought about his seeming determination to repay his perceived debt to her. What did that even mean? She found some degree of comfort in the thought that as long as she was grounded to Konoha there would be no finding out, which was absolutely a good thing. With any luck, he would forget all about this ridiculous arrangement and leave her alone by the time her probation was over.

The thought of her probation made Sakura more than a little depressed. She groaned, thinking about the lengths she and Naruto were willing to go for Uchiha Sasuke. But just as Kakashi had drilled into them from their very first day as Genin, Sakura and Naruto would never ever leave a teammate behind. Resolved, she alphabetized folders and replaced post-it notes with renewed vigor. She and Naruto would definitely go the distance for him.

_For Sasuke._

All for Sasuke.


	5. Friend

Zero Hour - Chapter 5: Friend  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though you are slightly cracked." - Bernard Meltzer

* * *

Naruto returned from his mission late at night and recounted the tale to Sakura of Sai's betrayal, Yamato's quick thinking, and the frigid reunion with Sasuke.

"I knew there was something off about him," Sakura said of Sai's duplicity.

"Hey hey, don't get upset," Naruto said. "He messed up, sure, but in the end he was on our side."

"That's saying something coming from the guy complaining about Sai being a substitute for Sasuke."

"Yeah, well," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking anywhere but at her. "Things changed. And he's not a substitute. No one could ever replace Sasuke, you know that."

Yes, she did. Sasuke was one of a kind, and he held a special place in their hearts.

"Just give him a chance, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "He's weird and kind of a dumbass, but he's on our side where it counts."

"How can you be sure? Kakashi-sensei told me Sai's with Root. Even Tsunade-sama doesn't trust them completely."

Naruto blinked at her. "Yeah, Yamato-taichou mentioned something about that. Sai works for that old man Danzo, and you know Baa-chan hates that guy." He shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter. Sai's on our side. He...understands. About Sasuke, I mean."

Sakura was caught off guard by that as she stared at Naruto with wide eyes. "What happened out there?"

Naruto looked out the window of Sakura's bedroom at the moonless sky. Even though she couldn't see him well in the meager starlight, she could tell that his expression was grim, like he didn't like what he was about to say. "Sai's mission was to kill Sasuke, but he defied orders to help me."

"_Those who break the rules are trash, but those who betray their friends are worse than trash."_

Kakashi's words echoed in Sakura's memory just then and her face softened. Naruto had the uncanny ability to bring out the best in people, whether they liked it or not. She didn't know how he'd done it, but she knew that she believed him. "If you trust Sai, then I trust your judgement."

"Sakura-chan," he said, his voice sounding a little distant. "There's something you should know."

Sakura frowned. He still wouldn't look at her. "What is it?"

Naruto opened his mouth to talk, but closed it. Concerned, and a little apprehensive, Sakura reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. Naruto sucked in a breath at the contact, as if he hadn't been expecting it. A feeling of trepidation crept up Sakura's spine. "You can tell me," she urged.

"It's about Sasuke." He finally met her eye. "He... He's different. He's not like he used to be."

"What do you mean?"

"He tried to kill me."

Sakura felt her entire body go rigid as Naruto's words slowly sank in. It took her a moment before she found her voice. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto brought his hands up to rest on her shoulders and stared her right in the face. "He tried to kill me," he repeated.

"That can't be right," Sakura said, pale-faced. "Sasuke would never—"

"Listen to me," Naruto said, shaking her a bit. "He thought he had to kill me to get the Mangekyou Sharingan. He said it was the only way."

Sakura stared into Naruto's eyes, horrified. "He wanted to kill you for power?"

"This doesn't change anything," Naruto said more to himself than to her. "I'm still going to bring him back. He's deluded if he thinks I'm afraid of dying." He scowled. "I wasn't strong enough to bring him home this time. I just have to train harder."

Sakura shook her head, hardly believing what her teammate was telling her. "The Sasuke we know would never turn on his friends like that."

Her mind flashed back to the fight against Gaara when Sasuke had protected her. She remembered the incident in the Forest of Death when she had been the only person able to bring Sasuke back from his curse seal-induced blood lust. That was the Sasuke she knew. That was her teammate, her friend, the boy she loved. Underneath it all, he would always be that person in her eyes. He _had _to be.

"He wants to kill Itachi," Naruto said, interrupting her thoughts. "He needs to do it, and I'm not gonna stand in his way. But he's letting it get to his head. He's letting it control him, and Orochimaru's taking advantage of that. We gotta get to him before that old snake bastard does. And we're running out of time before the deadline on the body transfer."

Sakura felt queasy at the thought of that abomination occupying Sasuke's body. A vision of the pale snake shinobi regurgitating his entire body through his mouth during their last battle flashed before her mind's eye. She swallowed hard.

"Hey, you're probably tired from your mission. You guys ran all day to get back here, right?" she said, suddenly wanting to change the subject. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

Naruto gave her an unreadable look. "I know it's hard for you to understand. You didn't see what I saw."

Sakura's face fell. "Naruto, I—"

"It's okay, I don't blame you. And we're all he's got left, so you and I have to believe in him. We have to believe that he'll come back to us."

"Yes," she said. "Yes, we do."

He smiled crookedly as he rose from his seat on her bed and made to hop out the window. "Oh hey, I almost forgot."

"What?"

"It's the weirdest thing," he began. "Orochimaru and Kabuto showed up just before things got really serious with Sasuke, and Orochimaru...well..."

Sakura felt her heart rate spike. "Yeah?"

"He asked about you. Wanted to know why you weren't there with us."

All of a sudden, Sakura was infinitely grateful that the darkness concealed her ashen face. "Oh? That is weird."

"Yeah, I didn't even think he knew who you were. Guess it makes sense since you, me, and Sasuke are on the same team."

"Yeah, that must be it," Sakura said, hoping her voice didn't sound as shrill to Naruto as it did to her own ears.

He shrugged. "That guy gives me the creeps. Anyway, night."

He left after that, leaving Sakura alone in her room. Immediately, she rushed to her bathroom to wash the cold sweat from her face. As she dried herself with a pink hand towel, she examined her reflection in the mirror.

"Sasuke would never hurt me or Naruto," she whispered softly. "He is our teammate no matter what might have happened on that mission. We're family."

She and Naruto had invested too much time and effort and love in him to give up on him now. Whatever had happened at Orochimaru's hideout must have been some kind of misunderstanding. Sakura would not let herself believe that Sasuke would turn his blade against his former teammate. Tired green eyes stared resolutely back at her, and for a moment Sakura got the eerie impression that she was looking not at her own reflection, but at a person completely distinct from herself. She pressed colorless lips together at the image.

"We are Team 7; we always will be."

Her reflection seemed to sneer at her as she said the words. She turned away from the mirror and turned in for a sleepless night.

* * *

"Measure me out a teaspoon of powdered ginger root, please."

"Right away, Sakura-sensei."

Sakura adjusted her microscope as the orderly carefully scooped out the requested substance. She squinted with a visible degree of annoyance at the dancing bio organisms in the petri dish. This new poison had taken her a couple of hours to break down and reverse analyze. The ginger root should do the trick though, she thought. The orderly handed her the measured ingredient and Sakura added it to her original antidote. Once satisfied that it had mixed properly, she used an eyedropper to suck a bit of the beige substance out of the beaker and added a few drops to the petri dish. Looking through the microscope, she let out a contented sigh as her antidote swiftly began to break down the toxin. Just to be perfectly safe, she raised a chakra-laden hand to the petri dish and explored the reaction on a molecular level to check for unwanted side effects.

"Good, good. It's breaking down harmlessly." Turning to the orderly once more she said, "Please administer this to the patient via IV. I want her monitored for an hour as we wait for the antidote to run its course, but there shouldn't be any problems."

"Yes ma'am," the orderly said, retrieving the beaker and excusing himself from the lab.

Sakura sighed and reached up to pull her large plastic goggles off. She pulled out her hair tie and ran a hand through her short pink locks. It was amazing to her how the hospital's busy level could change dramatically over the course of mere hours. The past few days had been nearly silent, and just this morning she'd had two surgeries and a poisoning to deal with. Now that the antidote was a success, Sakura could finally take a break two hours after her assigned shift should have ended.

Not that she could complain. Tsunade would not give her a break from this punishment and there was nothing for Sakura to do instead besides boring office work. At least this was interesting. Still, she was grateful that she'd have the rest of the day off. Overtime pay was a luxury not afforded to the hardworking hospital staff, something Sakura had not previously been aware of before taking over Shizune's responsibilities full time. As the Hokage's assistant until further notice, she had a mind to change that rule, especially since she seemed to be spending far more time within these stark white walls than in her own house.

Sakura cleaned up the lab before stopping by the nurses' lounge to hang up her lab coat. Outside, it was a beautiful day and she decided she'd make a trip to the library. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the mental exercise afforded her at the hospital, but she figured she should read up on other shinobi subjects to keep her mind sharp while on probation. It would be a good idea to be armed with fresh reading material to occupy the downtime at the hospital. The civilian librarian greeted her with a familiar nod; Sakura was a regular at the facility. She decided to check out the section on supplementary ninjutsu, wandering through the narrow aisles of overstuffed bookshelves until she came upon the right area. Practiced fingers traced the spines of worn, fraying book covers as she searched for one she hadn't yet read.

"The Art of Mind Control," she read aloud to herself. "Sounds like something Ino might like."

Sakura paused in her search as she stared at the title printed in faded black ink against a burgundy cover. _Why wouldn't this be in the restricted section? _Morbidly intrigued, Sakura retrieved the book and began to peruse the table of contents as she made her way to a reading table on autopilot. She looked up when a familiar voice called to her.

"Hello, Ugly."

Sakura paused, stunned for a moment as she registered that she'd just been insulted. But when she recognized the person's face she deflated and held back her punch, settling for a sour look instead.

"Sai."

"Please sit," he said, indicating an empty chair across the table from himself.

Sakura watched him, suspicious. Naruto had assured her that Sai was on their side and that he could be trusted, so Sakura was inclined to befriend the odd teenager. But she did not take kindly to being called ugly under any circumstances.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that calling a girl 'ugly' is totally rude?" she grumbled, slumping into the chair across from him.

Sai's smile never faltered. "I've been reading up on the social benefits of giving people I'd like to befriend nicknames, and this book suggests that basing them on physical characteristics is a good strategy."

He held up an open book and pointed to a section to prove his point. Sakura felt her anger deflate at his words.

"You just want to be my friend?"

Sai lowered his book. "Of course."

Sakura couldn't find it in her heart to be angry with him anymore. Rude or no, he'd defied critical orders and helped Naruto on their latest mission together. That was enough for her.

"Let me see that book," she said, reaching for it and quickly reading through the section Sai had previously pointed out. "Well, it does say that physical characteristics can be used for inspiration to create nicknames for people," she allowed.

Sai opened his mouth to say something but Sakura put her hand up to silence him.

"But look, Sai. You can't tell a girl that she's ugly, okay? You just can't."

Sai stopped smiling and merely looked at her curiously. "I thought women appreciated honesty."

Sakura felt her eye twitch in irritation at the implication that he truly thought her hideous. Still, she refrained from losing her temper in the quiet library. "Yes, that's true. But even if you truly find someone _not to your tastes, _you don't have to insult them. Little white lies can save you a world of misery."

Sai seemed to absorb this new information like a sponge as he took notes in a notepad that he'd pulled out from some undisclosed location. "I see. That's good to know. White lies, okay."

Sakura felt her irritation mounting as he scribbled who knew what into that little notepad. His attention was so focused on his notes that he didn't notice when Sakura's eyes drifted to another book on his side of the table. It didn't have a title, which made her curious. Frowning, she reached out and pulled it toward her. Inside were sketches of a boy with dark hair facing off against various enemies. Intrigued, she flipped through page after page, noticing after a moment that the boy's outfit changed in each picture to depict the armor worn by the previous page's enemy. Sakura chanced a look at Sai, but he was still writing something in his notepad. Emboldened, she opened the book to the middle and noticed the dark-haired boy holding hands with a white-haired boy. Both were smiling. She traced the dark-haired boy's smile with a finger.

All of a sudden a hand closed over hers, prompting her to look up. Sai watched her with an unreadable expression on his face, and Sakura fancied that he looked more natural like this than he ever did with those too-bright smiles he usually sported.

"Did you draw these?" she asked, unable to look away from him.

He watched her carefully for a moment. When he spoke, his voice sounded almost guarded. "Yes. They're drawings of my brother and me."

"I didn't know you had a brother. You told me before that you don't have anyone you care about."

"He's dead."

He said it matter-of-factly, as if it didn't bother him on a personal level. Sakura looked back down at the drawing of the two smiling boys, unsure whether she should try to comfort him or not.

"You're very talented," she said instead. "You both look so happy in this."

When he didn't say anything Sakura looked up at him, seeing how he was looking not at her but at the sketchbook trapped under their hands. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have looked at this without asking your permission." She pulled her hand away to push it back toward Sai, but he held fast.

"It's alright," he said, looking back up at her and smiling. "It was because of Naruto that I remembered how to draw that. I wanted to draw that picture for so long."

Sakura was speechless. She'd grown accustomed to Sai's fake smiles, but this one was anything but. Blinking once to make sure she hadn't imagined it, she found that this genuine smile was contagious. Anyone walking by their table may have raised a presumptuous eyebrow at the sight of their mutual smiles and perceived camaraderie.

"I know we got off to a rough start, but I'm really happy that you're on our team, Sai," Sakura said truthfully.

Sai blinked, his smile fading as he registered her words. He opened his mouth to say something but Sakura cut him off, not trusting him not to say something thoughtless to ruin the good mood even if he didn't really know better.

"Come on," she said, motioning for him to follow her. "Let's go find Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. You haven't even met him yet, right?"

Sai beamed his usual fake smile as he snapped his sketchbook closed and gathered up his bookbag. "Alright."

* * *

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said animatedly as he all but burst through the door of Kakashi's hospital room, Sakura and Sai in tow.

Hatake Kakashi looked up from his customary orange book with only mild interest. Sakura sighed and Sai merely hung back and observed as Naruto marched up to their teacher.

"You're still in bed? I thought you hated this place," he said.

Kakashi put his book away and gave Naruto his undivided attention. "Someone seems to have gone back on her word to get me out of here a little ahead of schedule, so yes, Naruto, I'm still in bed."

Sakura felt a blush begin to heat up her cheeks at Kakashi's casually accusatory tone. "I tried, but Tsunade-sama wasn't having it. And she's the boss."

Kakashi shot her a look that told her he felt personally betrayed. "And you were always my favorite student, Sakura. I was so looking forward to spending all my hard-earned money on your and Naruto's stomachs."

She shook her head, grinning.

"And who is this?" Kakashi prompted, indicating Sai.

All eyes turned to the dark-haired shinobi who waved casually at Kakashi.

"Oh, that's just Sai. He's the newest member of Team Kakashi," Naruto said.

"Hello, Kakashi-senpai," Sai said politely. Mercifully, he did not bestow a dreadful nickname upon their team leader.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sai."

Sakura watched as Kakashi examined their newest teammate with what appeared to be a friendly once-over. But she recalled his earlier words about Sai being a member of ANBU Root and wondered what he was really thinking.

"Did anyone fill you in on what happened during the mission?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

Kakashi turned his focus to her and gave her a knowing look. "Yes, Tenzo briefed me."

_Then he knows that Sai's not the enemy, _Sakura thought to herself.

"He also brought me up to speed on the situation with Sasuke."

At the mention of their estranged teammate, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Then you already know that we're running out of time. He's gotten too strong—" Naruto began.

"Then you'll just have to get stronger," Kakashi interrupted, looking between the three of them. "Contrary to what you all may think, I haven't just been catching up on beauty sleep this whole time."

Sakura cracked a smile at that one.

"How?" Naruto demanded. "We're on a pretty strict time regimen here, and losing him is not an option."

"Simply put, you'll develop a new jutsu that surpasses even the Rasengan. Normally it would require many months of focused training, but I think this is something only Naruto can pull off—"

"Wait a minute, didn't you hear a word I just said? We don't _have _time. Orochimaru wants to take over Sasuke's body and I _will not _let that happen."

"Yeah, but if you hadn't interrupted me I would have gone on to say that for you, this shouldn't take nearly as long."

"Why is this something only Naruto can do? Can't Sai and I help out too?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you see—" Kakashi began.

He didn't finish his thought as the door suddenly opened to reveal none other than Team 10.

"Asuma-sensei! I don't _care_ if he's your friend. You cannot just barge into patients' rooms unannounced!" Ino scolded.

Asuma brushed her off despite her very official-looking white lab coat and no-nonsense tone.

"Hey, Kakashi. How's the treatment coming?" he asked as Chouji and Shikamaru sauntered in after him.

"So you're back," Shikamaru said, approaching Naruto. "I heard about everything from Tsunade-sama."

Naruto scowled. "Sasuke's a stubborn ass, but we'll get him."

Chouji walked up next to Shikamaru, munching on some chips. "You know we've got your back, Naruto."

"Now that those pain-in-the-ass Chuunin exams are over," Shikamaru appended. He reached out and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We'll help you out next time if something comes up with Sasuke."

Naruto looked a little stunned by their words, but he managed a small smile. "Yeah, that means a lot guys. Thanks."

"Sakura, I'm really sorry about this. I tried to stop them but when I mentioned that Kakashi-sensei would be released today, Asuma-sensei just barrelled on in like he usually does," Ino said.

Sakura smiled at the blonde, knowing that she wasn't truly angry at her teacher. "No worries."

Noticing that he was standing alone while Shikamaru and Chouji chatted up Naruto and Asuma and Kakashi spoke quietly, Sakura pulled Sai's arm and forced him to stand next to her in front of Ino.

"Ino, meet Sai."

Ino raised a curious eyebrow at the mention of the boy whom Sakura had called 'creepy' the last time they'd spoken of him. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you."

Sai smiled. "Likewise...Beautiful."

Sakura felt something shatter inside of her and cry tears of hopeless envy.

_You have _got _to be kidding me!_

Ino blinked but recovered quickly, smirking. "Aren't you quite the charmer," she said. "But I'm already taken, sorry."

"I see," Sai said cheerfully.

"Hey guys," Asuma spoke up. "Why don't you go grab a table at Yakiniku Q? Team Kakashi is invited too."

"Awesome!" Chouji said, punching the air.

"Ooh, that sounds like fun!" Ino said.

"Kakashi and I still have a few things to talk about, so you all go ahead," Asuma added. "Oh, and feel free to put it on my tab."

Chouji looked like he was about to cry tears of unadulterated joy while Shikamaru looked about as enthusiastic as a fallen wet leaf. Naruto, however, was having none of it.

"Hey, wait a sec! Kakashi-sensei, you were about to explain this new mission to get stronger."

"Hm? Oh, right. Well, I guess it will have to wait until later."

Naruto looked like he was about to protest, but Sai put a hand on his shoulder. "Your squawking is unseemly, Naruto. This is a hospital."

"WHAT? I'm not some chicken, you know!"

Sai looked a bit perplexed while Sakura and Ino exchanged knowing looks. "Come on, idiots," Sakura said, taking Naruto and Sai each by the elbow and dragging them both to the door.

Twenty minutes later Team 10 and Team Kakashi were at Yakiniku Q and cooking their ordered meats.

"Chouji, save me some of the pork belly; you know it's my favorite," Ino said as she skewered some vegetables over the open fire grill.

Sakura smirked. "You _would _want all the pork, Pig."

"Here, have some vegetables. If you eat too much meat it'll all go to your forehead," Ino retorted, not missing a beat.

The girls shared a laugh at each other's expense.

"You know, I don't understand how this kind of behavior is supposed to showcase your friendship," Shikamaru said.

"Don't even try to understand, Shikamaru," Naruto deadpanned. "It's not worth the headache."

Shikamaru scowled. "You're probably right for once."

"Okay! We've got pork belly, rib eye, and gizzard ready to go!" Chouji announced.

Sai had remained mostly quiet as he observed the conversation between the friends. Sakura wondered if he felt a little out of place, so she turned to talk to him. To her surprise, he was staring at her intently.

"Um, Sai? Is there something on my face?"

"I think Beautiful is right about your forehead. It's very wide. Maybe you should stop eating."

There was a pause as Sakura, stunned, faltered for a reaction. Then Ino burst out laughing, followed by Naruto and Chouji while Shikamaru smartly put some distance between Sakura and himself.

Sakura reached across the table and grabbed Sai's collar, yanking him forward to emphasize her displeasure. "You have not listened to a word I've said about insulting women," she growled.

"Aw Sakura-chan, you know you can't take anything that idiot says seriously," Naruto said between giggles.

"There is something wrong with you," Shikamaru said to Sai, who simply shrugged at him despite the choke hold Sakura still had him in.

"I don't know, Sakura," Ino said, her blue eyes glimmering in a way that said she was up to no good. "I think Sai has pretty good instincts when it comes to looks."

"You're only saying that because he nicknamed you 'Beautiful'!"

"What's wrong with that?"

Sakura was about to tell her that Sai was just lying to her because she'd told him to when the sound of laughter cut her off. All eyes turned to Sai, who was still being manhandled by Sakura. She gaped at him, realizing that she'd never heard him laugh before.

"This is fun," he said. "Having friends...is fun."

Sakura released him and sat back down. Somehow, despite his obvious lack of decorum and numerous eccentricities, she was starting to _like _having Sai around as more than just a professional teammate.

"Of course it's fun!" Chouji said, taking Sai's plate and piling it high with food.

"Damn right it is. You should consider yourself lucky to be in such phenomenal company," Naruto said, flashing Sai a cheesy grin.

"Yes," Sai said, accepting the plate from Chouji. "Thank you, fat a—"

Naruto slapped a hand over Sai's mouth, effectively cutting him off before he could do irreparable damage. Belatedly, Sakura thought she'd never seen Naruto move so fast.

"Watch it, art boy," Naruto hissed. "I don't know what the hell they teach you in Root, but 'fat ass' isn't something you call your friends."

"What were you saying, Sai?" Chouji said.

"Uh, he was just saying that your cooking is fantastic!" Ino said, patting Chouji on the shoulder in an effort to dispel the threatening atmosphere.

Chouji peered at Sai, but he wasn't suspicious by nature. "Oh, okay then."

Ino smiled and shook her head while Shikamaru crossed his arms and tried to hide a small grin.

"Wait until he meets Neji," Ino whispered to Sakura.

"Or Shino," Sakura said. "Someone is going to kill him, I swear."

* * *

Sakura was surprised by how quickly the weeks passed since Team Kakashi had returned from their failed mission to retrieve Sasuke. Naruto threw himself into special training with Kakashi and Yamato in order to create and perfect a new technique that would incorporate both shape and nature manipulation, to Sakura's horror. No one had ever done such a thing before as far as she knew, but if there had to be a first time then Naruto was definitely the guy to take that step. It soon became very obvious why Kakashi had designated the blonde Jinchuuriki for this task over Sai and Sakura; he was the only one able to create hundreds of shadow clones all at once to exponentially speed up the learning process.

In the couple of months that passed Sakura spent her time watching Naruto train, sparring with Tsunade, or working at the hospital. The latter was generally more than enough to keep her occupied with surgeries, poison and antidote analysis, and training other medics. Sakura even felt like she was becoming a better lab worker as she mixed new antidotes to challenging poisons or performed complex medical sealings in Shizune's place. Once in a while, Tsunade would give her time-consuming administrative tasks that bored her to tears. It was at times like those that Sakura was infinitely grateful to her friends for providing a distraction whenever they were free. Even though the various teams came and went on missions, they all made a point to spend time together whenever possible.

Sai adjusted as well as could be expected to the Konoha 11 clique. Lee was always friendly to him, as were Tenten and Hinata. Kiba thought he was hilarious, especially when he found out that he'd nicknamed Ino 'Beautiful' and Sakura 'Ugly'. Shino and Neji tolerated him, which was better than predicted. Still, despite the rather successful integration, it seemed that Sai's presence emphasized Sasuke's absence. It didn't help that he bore a startling resemblance to the missing shinobi.

And finally, after months of going stir crazy, the day had come for Sakura's probation to end.

"I can't believe this!" Naruto groused over his drink. "I think Baa-chan's got it out for me or something."

"I think Tsunade-sama just thinks you should focus on finishing up that technique," Sakura said in an attempt to placate the volatile blonde.

"I don't know," Sai said. "I think the Hokage just knew Dickless here would be the worst possible choice for a recon mission."

Naruto slammed his drink on the table. "Man, do I need to whip it out for you to see or something? Prick."

"I would rather you didn't," Sai said, taking a sip of his own drink.

Sakura watched him with no small degree of suspicion. Over time, she had started to wonder if Sai wasn't as clueless as he used to be and had merely figured out exactly what to say to push Naruto's buttons.

"I wish you and Kakashi-sensei could come with us," Sakura said. "But Sai and I should be fine with Kurenai-sensei and Shino. It's just a quicky to get me back in the field."

"To his place."

Silence reigned as Naruto's words sunk in. Sakura and Sai would be paying a visit to the hideout where Sasuke had last been seen. As far as anyone knew, it was abandoned. But Tsunade wanted to be thorough, so she was sending out teams to all of Orochimaru's known past locations. The time for the body transfer was drawing ever nearer, so there was no room for oversight. Naruto would have to hurry up and finish his technique soon...

"I don't like it," Naruto added, suddenly serious. "I should be going with you guys. Kakashi-sensei, too."

Sakura sighed. "Well, last time I was the one who stayed behind and you came back just fine. No one should be there at all this time around, so there's no reason to worry."

"Anything that has to do with Orochimaru and Kabuto is a cause for worry," Naruto retorted.

Sakura couldn't exactly argue with that point.

"Well, it's a good thing you won't be around to make so much noise like last time," Sai said.

Naruto didn't even react to the harmless jibe; he only made a face at the table. Sakura reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's going to be alright," she said. "Kurenai-sensei will be there, so we're in good hands."

"I'm not worried that you guys can't take care of yourselves," Naruto said. "But this is Orochimaru we're talking about. I just have a bad feeling about things whenever he's involved."

"We'll be back before you know it," Sakura said.

"Try not to embarrass yourself while we're gone," Sai added.

The half scowl half grin that Naruto shot at him made Sakura smile and they dropped the subject. She and Sai would be leaving in the morning, so the three of them wanted to spend the night together having some fun.

"So does this mean you won't be at the hospital anymore?" Naruto asked.

"Nah," Sakura said. "I'll still be picking up my regular shifts, but it will be much less than it's been." She paused before adding, "I actually think it was a good couple of months. I learned a lot."

"I thought you were already an expert," Sai said. "Does this mean you're actually not a very good medic to still be learning things?"

Sakura shoved him. "No, it just means that there's always something new to learn. The other day I saved an ANBU's life. He'd been poisoned pretty badly and it had run a pretty nasty course by the time he was brought in."

"Che, poison's no big for you, Sakura-chan. I remember when you brought Kankuro back from the brink way back when."

Sakura looked grim for a moment. "This poison was pretty complicated. I wasn't sure I'd come up with the antidote in time, actually."

"But the ANBU is alright now?" Sai asked.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. And Konoha's got another anti-toxin to add to the database."

"It seems like cheating," Naruto said. "Shinobi should fight each other hand to hand and die in the field, not holed up in the hospital and wasting away like a sick person."

"Actually, it's very efficient," Sai said. "Of course, you have to be knowledgeable about science to some extent. I suppose that explains why it doesn't make sense to you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired teenager. "You keep talking, asshole. I'll test out my new jutsu on you when it's ready."

Sai just smiled.

They called it a night soon after and Sakura quickly packed before turning in. As she lay in bed unable to sleep, her thoughts wandered to tomorrow's mission. It was just a routine B-rank scouting mission, but still she felt some measure of anticipation. She hadn't thought about Orochimaru and Kabuto much recently. Once things had picked up at the hospital and with Naruto's new training regimen, she hadn't had much time to daydream. She hadn't thought about Sasori much, either.

_Sasori..._

This was her last night of probation; tomorrow she'd venture beyond Konoha's protective walls into the world once more. The last time she left Konoha she nearly died a number of times. Sakura turned on her side and sighed into her pillow. That was neither here nor there. She should really just focus on her mission tomorrow. Still, now that she would be free to leave Konoha again, would she run into Sasori someday? Would he come to deliver on the debt he owed her? She sincerely hoped not. What would she even do if she saw him again? What would she say? What was there to say? He was the enemy and that was that. No one knew about their temporary alliance and Sakura planned on keeping it that way. But what if he confronted her in front of Sai? In front of Naruto? Or worse, what if he came to her when she was at her most vulnerable—alone?

"Why am I even thinking about this?" she mumbled.

Sleep finally found her in the dead of night when the world was silent and shadowed. But even in sleep she could not shake the memory of empty honey eyes and a foreboding chill creeping up her spine.

* * *

The underground compound was abandoned as far as Sakura could tell. She and Kurenai wandered through the dim stone hallways and checked behind closed doors, but they were met only with cobwebs and the echoes of past human presence. Shadows danced along the walls as Sakura moved or opened doors, making her believe that there was someone there for a fleeting moment before the light ceased its tricks.

_Sasuke was here, _she thought to herself. _This is where he fought Naruto and Sai._

Sakura shuddered as she examined her assigned hallways at a slightly faster pace. She wanted to get out of this dingy place. Sai scouted from the air atop one of his volant ink beasts while Shino sent his bugs to scour the surrounding forest for traces of chakra and shinobi presences. They all came up short.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that this place is a ghost town," Kurenai said.

Sakura kind of wished she'd chosen different wording.

"It's getting late. Perhaps we should make camp for the night before heading back in the morning," Shino suggested.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Kurenai said. "But let's put a little distance between us and the base. This place gives me the creeps."

That night Sakura drew the first watch shift, so she made herself as comfortable as she could against the rough bark of a tree trunk and looked out over their makeshift camp. Shino sat with Kurenai by the fire as they chatted about something that was too soft for Sakura to make out from this distance. To her mild surprise, Sai joined her.

"You can get some sleep, Sai. I've got first watch."

"It's alright."

They sat in comfortable silence for a bit until rustling noises and a hissing sound indicated that Shino and Kurenai had retreated to their respective sleeping bags for the night. Once they were asleep, Sai spoke.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?"

"What will you do if Sasuke cannot be saved?"

Sakura's first instinct was to retort that this wasn't even a possibility, but the way he'd said it made her think that he was truly interested in her answer. She took a moment to think before speaking.

"What I've always done," she said. "I'll continue to get stronger so that I can protect the people I love for as long as I'm able."

"I see."

When he didn't elaborate Sakura added, "But we _will_ save him. Naruto and Kakashi and me...and you. Together we'll bring him back."

"It's impossible, you know. To have no emotions, I mean," Sai said. "I was trained to erase them all, but I see now that it's not something anyone can do even with special conditioning."

"Sai..."

"Sasuke told me that he cut his ties with you and Naruto because they made him weak. But I think those bonds are what make you and Naruto strong."

Sakura smiled through the darkness even though she knew Sai couldn't see it. "They make you strong too. We're in this together."

"Thank you, Sakura."

She blinked, a little taken aback. The way he'd said it reminded her so much of the time Sasuke had said those same words to her so many years ago. She could only barely make out Sai's silhouette through the gloom of nightfall, but for a moment she felt like she was twelve years old again.

"Get some sleep," she said. "I've got a few more hours of watch left."

"Wake me when your shift is up," he said, jumping down from his perch in the tree and settling into his own sleeping bag.

Time seemed to pass slowly for Sakura as she just stared into the darkness for what seemed like forever, thinking of nothing. But even as she tried to clear her mind, she found that she was distracted. Somehow this night felt too quiet, too dark, like something was watching her. She decided to patrol the perimeter of their camp to shake the eerie feeling from her.

"I'm just tired, that's all," she told herself.

She wandered away from the camp, checking for any signs of life. There was no trace of anyone around, not even animals. She paused, straining her ears for sound. She didn't even hear crickets chirping. Something was not right. Whirling back in the direction she'd come, she jogged toward what she believed to be her team's campsite. But after jogging for five minutes she found nothing. She should have passed the camp after three minutes.

_I'm so stupid._

Trying to fight the rising panic in her throat, Sakura concentrated the flow of her chakra and prepared to dispel the genjutsu.

"Kai!"

Nothing happened.

"_You're quick on the uptake, but that won't work here."_

The voice seemed to flow from all directions at once, as if she were caught in a dream. It was then that she realized exactly what the problem was. Most genjutsu affected the target's vision, but this one was clearly messing with her auditory functions. Acting quickly, Sakura redirected her chakra and dispelled the illusion once more. This time she was successful.

"You have a knack for illusory techniques, Sakura."

"Kabuto," she spat.

The bespectacled Sound shinobi stood several feet in front of her. Moonlight glinted off his glasses, giving him a spectral look. "It's good to see you," he said, ignoring her obvious displeasure. "We missed you when Naruto-kun came sniffing around here."

_I have to alert Kurenai-sensei._

Kabuto took a step toward her and she instinctively stepped backwards to keep her distance.

"My intentions toward you are not hostile."

"Bullshit. You and I are not exactly on good terms."

"You can't blame me for that, surely. You're the one who opted to side with Sasori."

At the mention of the redheaded missing nin Sakura felt her heart rate spike. She looked around, almost expecting to see him there. But she was alone. No one was here but Kabuto and herself.

"My team is nearby. I suggest you leave while you can," Sakura said, reaching for a kunai.

"Your team doesn't concern me; I'm here for you." He took another step toward her and Sakura took another step back.

"Here for me—"

She never finished her sentence as something grabbed her from behind and pressed a damp cloth over her mouth and nose. Even in the throes of panic, she managed to gut one of her faceless captors if the gasp of pain and the feel of hot blood on her arm were any indication. Sadly, there were more of them than her. If Kabuto was upset that she'd just killed one of his men, he didn't show it. He kneeled down in front of her where her captors had forced her to her knees and bound her wrists with chakra-sapping wires. Sakura wanted to lash out at him so badly, but the effects of the chloroform made her too groggy to talk. Consciousness and control were waning fast.

"Don't look so upset, Sakura," he said gently. "I'm taking you to see Sasuke-kun, just like you wanted."

The last thought that passed through Sakura's mind as even the fear of what might possibly be in store for her ebbed was that she had probably made the biggest mistake of her life siding with Sasori against Kabuto and Orochimaru.


	6. Fallen Angel

Zero Hour - Chapter 6: Fallen Angel  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Sparkling angel, I believed  
You were my savior in my time of need.  
Blinded by faith I couldn't hear  
All the whispers, the warnings so clear..."  
- Within Temptation, "Angels"

* * *

The first thing Sakura registered as she came to was the smell. It was an earthy stench, damp, like she was in a subterranean cavern. She wrinkled her nose involuntarily in disgust. It was like she'd passed out against a pile of moss.

There was some kind of booming sound echoing faintly, like it resounded at the far edges of her hearing. At first she thought it might be a drum, but the sounds were intermittent, nothing like what a rhythmic instrument should sound like. She frowned, trying to block it out and go back to sleep.

"You've slept for a long while."

At the sound of that disturbingly familiar voice, Sakura's eyes shot open. It was hard to see in the muted candlelight, but her vision adjusted quickly once she blinked the induced sleep away.

_I was drugged, _she recalled listlessly.

And that voice...

"I don't actually mind waiting," came Orochimaru's lilting voice once more. "But even I have my limits."

Before she could properly appreciate the terror that necessarily came with hearing that voice, something shook her a bit. Sakura rolled over onto her back and found herself staring up at Kabuto.

"I apologize for the rough treatment," he said, smiling a little. "But I doubt you would have come quietly."

"Go to hell," Sakura said automatically.

"So much like Tsunade-hime. I see you've inherited her penchant for foul language," Orochimaru said.

Sakura forced herself to sit up, still feeling dizzy and only half aware. Something inside her screamed that this was _very bad, _but she couldn't appreciate the dire nature of her situation properly while her head spun like a top. Turning, she caught sight of Orochimaru leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed.

"That's weird," Sakura said. "I'm pretty sure I ripped out your tongue. How are you talking?"

Orochimaru merely bared his teeth in a smile, but it had an effect far worse than if he'd threatened her life. Sakura physically recoiled, as if on instinct. She suddenly remembered that she was scared to death of that man. The last time she'd seen him, he was glaring at her with more abject hatred than she'd ever seen before...

"I'm sure you don't believe that kind of injury is beyond my capabilities," Kabuto said from her left.

Sakura turned to him then, her head clearing some. "Kabuto... What's going on? Where is my team?"

"Where you left them, if I had to guess," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

_Shit._

"Where am I?"

"Safe."

_Yeah, right._

Orochimaru took this opportunity to approach the conversing shinobi. He kneeled down just in front of Sakura and took her chin in his hand. Sakura squeaked for lack of a proper response and willed herself to scoot away from him, punch him, _anything. _But she could only stare, wide-eyed, into those reptilian golden eyes.

"Sakura," he drawled. "Tell me, how long have you been apprenticing with Tsunade-hime?"

Sakura found that she had trouble breathing. Without thinking, she smacked his hand away. Kabuto was on her immediately. He grabbed her wrist, sending a rush of deadly medical chakra into her slender appendage and severing the tendons. Sakura cried out in pain and yanked her wrist away from the other medic.

"There's no need to be hostile," Orochimaru said, his tone more cutting than before. "I merely asked a question. Is it beyond your capacity to answer properly?"

Sakura felt her fear spike as she suddenly understood her situation. Whatever was going on, she was up against Kabuto and Orochimaru again, and this time no one was around to back her up. Trying in vain to ignore the shrieking pain in her wrist, she took a calming breath.

_Keep them talking._

"T-Three years," Sakura said, looking at the floor. "I've nearly finished my apprenticeship."

_Ohgodohgodohgod..._

Orochimaru smiled again, seemingly pleased with her answer. Sakura honestly did not know if that was good or bad.

"Kabuto, I trust she will be useful to you then?"

"Yes. I thought so when we last fought, as well. Sakura is an elite in her field; there's no question about it."

"Good." Orochimaru stood then and walked to the door. "I expect concrete results."

He left and Sakura realized she was clenching her jaw so hard it hurt.

"Relax," Kabuto said.

Sakura whirled on him. "You... What have you _done?"_

Kabuto sighed, reaching for her injured wrist. She immediately pulled away from him, horrified.

"I'm just going to heal it."

Sakura, now fully awake, felt her heart thumping loudly in her ears as fear and uncertainty took her firmly in their hold. She remembered being ambushed in the woods by Kabuto as she patrolled her team's makeshift camp. She'd managed to kill one of his lackeys, but it appeared they'd overpowered her in the end. And now...

_And now I'm who knows where with Kabuto and...Orochimaru..._

She honestly wanted to kick herself for letting this happen. In her distraction, Kabuto had managed to grab her wrist and begun administering healing chakra. Sakura blinked at him.

"Why?"

"It wouldn't do to have you permanently injured."

"I meant why am I here?"

Kabuto didn't answer until he finished mending the damage he'd caused. Then he looked up at her. They sat opposite each other on a rug. The walls around them were made of stone, moist from some water source. Sakura sniffled.

"You're here to assist me. What kind of medical ninja would I be if I didn't know my own limitations?"

Sakura just stared at him. "Excuse me?"

Kabuto stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. Sakura was forced to look up at him from her sitting position.

"To put it simply, I want your help with a rather vexing medical quandary. You see, every time Orochimaru-sama transfers bodies, the duration of the jutsu decreases. I want to find a way to prolong it or, ideally, make it permanent. Since I've been largely unsuccessful thus far, we decided to enlist some help."

Sakura gaped at Kabuto. "You must be joking."

Kabuto shook his head. "Not at all. As I told you before, I can recognize your extraordinary talent with medical ninjutsu. I think it would be very helpful to have a second opinion to solve the problem."

Sakura forced herself to stand but nearly lost her balance from fatigue and weakness. Kabuto immediately moved to support her, but she wrenched away from him, seething. "Don't touch me!"

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Sakura," Kabuto said, his tone suddenly taking a turn for the uncompromising.

Sakura would have scoffed had she not realized the dangerously precarious nature of her situation. Already, she could tell that her chakra was drained and that she was in no condition to take Kabuto in a fight at the moment. Still, he was off his rocker if he truly thought she would lift a finger to help him.

"You must understand that I would not do anything to help you or Orochimaru, of all people. It would be treason."

Kabuto smirked at her. "I wouldn't tell anyone."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to it.

"Listen, Sakura. It would really be in your best interests to cooperate. Orochimaru-sama is a reasonable man, but as he said before, even he has his limits. And once we are successful, you'll be free to go."

_Fat chance of that, _Sakura thought bitterly.

He must have understood the reason for her sour look. "Of course, your freedom depends entirely on your success. If you cooperate and we come up with a solution, you're free to return to Konoha. If not, I'm afraid you will meet a less pleasant outcome."

Sakura did not need him to specify exactly what 'less pleasant' meant. Her heart sank and her knees felt weak as she absorbed this new information. Her options were limited; either she work with Kabuto and come up with whatever the hell he couldn't figure out alone, or she would likely be killed. Then again, given Orochimaru's and Kabuto's reputations, she figured that death would be the kindest mercy. No, they would probably torture her until she lost her mind before finally ending things. Sakura felt her hands begin to shake uncontrollably and an unpleasant heat begin to form behind her eyes. She felt trapped.

"I'm sure you're upset," Kabuto said, either oblivious or cruelly indifferent to her obvious anguish. "You may sleep the rest of the night. We'll discuss the details in the morning."

He turned around to exit the same way Orochimaru had, but stopped short of the door.

"Your chakra will return as normal," he said. "But only because I feel that it would be useful in our collaboration. Betray my faith in you and there will be consequences."

With that, Kabuto exited the room and closed the door behind him. Sakura listened as he locked it behind him. The distant drumming sound returned to her then. Or maybe it had never abated and she'd just forgotten about it?

A soft dripping sound drew her attention to the floor at her feet. Hot tears fell one by one with little plops, forming miniature puddles in the uneven stone floor. She sniffled again and made her way to the alcove where her bed sat. A rush of despondency and regret swept over her as she lay down and stared at the cracked ceiling.

_This is what I get for siding with an S-class criminal._

Sakura cried herself into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning came too soon. For a moment, in the limbo between sleep and wakefulness, Sakura could almost convince herself that it had all been a bad dream. But when the distant pounding sounds from the previous night found their way into her hearing, she knew she was still a captive at Orochimaru's base.

Sakura had never been particularly brave, but right now she wished for Naruto's infallible confidence or Sai's serene level-headedness to help her overcome what she imagined to be the beginnings of a panic attack. The room had no windows, so she couldn't tell how late or early it was. After a few moments, the telltale _click _of the iron lock on her door told her that the time for rest was over.

Kabuto let himself into her cell, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him and turning to scrutinize her. Not wanting to appear any weaker than she already felt in front of the other medic, Sakura pushed herself up on her elbows.

"Good morning, Sakura."

Sakura just glared at him, not deigning his false pleasantries with a response.

"I suppose you're still upset, but I think we both know that there is no reason to make this any more unpleasant than need be."

Sakura felt like throwing something at him, but she grudgingly admitted to herself that he did have a point. Being difficult would probably just mean a world of unnecessary pain and discomfort for her, and it would not help her situation at all.

"How do I know that you'll really let me go by the end of this?" she ventured.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "You don't. But you're not in any position to be making demands."

"I could refuse to help you."

"And I can do whatever is necessary to get you to cooperate."

The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stood on end. She knew in her bones that he was not joking despite his usually subdued mien. Knowing first hand what he was capable of, Sakura swallowed hard and admitted to herself that there was really no getting out of this for the time being. Perhaps she should play along for now until a better opportunity arose.

"If I promise to cooperate, will you promise that no harm will come to me while I'm here?"

"That really depends on you, Sakura. If you can deliver the results we need, I don't see why we can't all benefit from this circumstance."

Sakura grimaced at the implication. _But if I misbehave or fail, I'll probably never see the light of day again._

"Come," Kabuto said. "I'll take you to the lab."

With no other options while she was still relatively low on chakra, Sakura trudged after Kabuto through the stony corridors of the base. It quickly became obvious that she was underground somewhere. There were no windows to be seen and the air tasted stale, as if had been stagnating here. They passed by closed doors, prompting Sakura to wonder what was hidden behind them. More than likely they concealed horrors beyond her imagination. Orochimaru was notorious for his extensive human experimentation.

"So are you going to explain to me exactly what the problem is?" Sakura ventured, desperate for a distraction from the unidentified scraping sounds coming from behind some of the doors.

"Of course," Kabuto said, leading her down another corridor to the left. "As you know, Orochimaru-sama is trying to find the key to immortality. To do that, he developed a technique to transfer his life force into new vessels. The transfer allows him to avoid physical aging and decay, as well as gain access to the vessel's special abilities."

"That all sounds very pretty, but you're skirting the fact that those 'vessels' are actually people who become slaves in their own bodies," Sakura said, making no effort to mask her scorn. "That body transfer technique is an aberration."

"Semantics," Kabuto said, clearly uncaring. "Anyway, the problem is simply a biological one. The vessel can accept Orochimaru-sama's life force but only for a limited amount of time. After a while, it begins to reject his presence. Think about how you take medication to alleviate pain. Over time, your body will build up a resistance to the medication. To compensate you take the medication in higher doses, but the end result is always the same. Eventually, you'll have to switch to another, more powerful brand because your body will reject the effects of the original medication. Of course, the process merely repeats itself. The cycle is inefficient and dangerous."

Sakura frowned. "So you want to figure out a way to eliminate the rejection of the foreign presence. That sounds impossible."

"Well, let's hope for your sake that you can make it possible," Kabuto said. "Here we are."

They turned into a wide room lined with long, stainless steel tables. The walls were almost completely obscured by shelves jammed with an array of jars, books, and various medical tools. Sakura tried not to look too hard at the jars' grisly contents.

"You'll have access to all my research here," Kabuto explained. "I've tried various experiments over the years to find the most compatible vessels for Orochimaru-sama. Of course, ideal vessels are not always the most compatible, and some reject him more violently than others."

Sakura approached a table covered with various open medical tomes and pages of handwritten notes most likely prepared by Kabuto. She skimmed a few, half listening to him. The medical ninja in her was slightly intrigued as she read through his observations.

"Have you been able to pinpoint exactly why the bodies reject him?" she asked, somewhat distracted as she examined an open book about the properties of antibodies.

Kabuto watched her out of the corner of his eye, a small smirk playing at his lips. He knew she would be intrigued by a medical conundrum. Like him, she craved a deeper understanding; all he needed to do was offer her the appropriate motivation. It really was too bad that she let a little thing like loyalty hinder her advancement.

"I have a few theories," he said cryptically.

Sakura expected him to elaborate, but he did not. Immediately, she became suspicious. Tsunade-sama would sometimes take this approach with her when she was trying to get Sakura to think about new concepts. It was always more effective for the student to figure out a solution on her own if possible, and Sakura got the distinct impression that Kabuto was testing her in a similar way right now. She turned her full attention to him.

"Well, if I had to start somewhere I'd cut my losses and go directly to the source," she said, making eye contact with Kabuto. "In other words, the only way to make any useful observations would be to examine the problem as it's happening. Have you run tests on Orochimaru directly?"

Kabuto's smirk widened considerably, and Sakura knew she'd given him the answer he wanted. "I suppose I should have expected no less from the Hokage's apprentice. I have run some tests on Orochimaru-sama's past and current vessels. But no matter what information I glean from direct observation, I cannot seem to halt the decay and ultimate rejection of his soul from the vessel."

He approached her and Sakura took a step back to maintain the professional distance between them. Kabuto noticed this and halted his progress, tilting his head as if amused. "Read up on my notes. Orochimaru-sama will want to get started on the tests as soon as possible."

Sakura clenched her fists. She'd been expecting this, but the thought was no less revolting now that it was confirmed. "You know, I could use the opportunity to kill him. I could do it if I get the access you're implying."

Kabuto laughed lightly. Sakura was about to say something but the look in his eyes suddenly turned sinister, giving her pause. A cold chill ran up her spine. "You will do no such thing, Sakura."

He took another step closer to her, and this time Sakura bumped into the edge of a table when she tried to step back. A palpable terror gripped her then. Something told her that even if by some miracle she was able to harm Orochimaru, she would meet a fate far worse than death in retribution. Kabuto was capable of that much and more, she was certain.

"You have the rest of the day. We'll start the hands-on tests tomorrow morning."

With that Kabuto exited the lab, locking the door behind him. Sakura released the breath she'd been holding, cursing herself for letting him intimidate her like that. The booming sounds continued to penetrate the walls of the lab from somewhere above, like an erratic heart beat.

"I have to get out of this place," Sakura whispered to herself.

_I don't want to die here._

* * *

She did as Kabuto asked and read through all of his notes and skimmed a bit of the relevant medical books. Without actually getting a look at Orochimaru herself, she had to admit that it seemed like Kabuto had been very thorough in his record-keeping. Still, she had her suspicions that what they were asking was going to be impossible to accomplish, and those suspicions mounted with each passing hour that she spent in Kabuto's lab pouring over his work.

But none of that mattered. Her chakra was returning bit by precious bit throughout the day, and Sakura did not plan on sticking around long enough for her doubts about Orochimaru's condition to be confirmed. When an assistant came to retrieve her at the end of the day to take her back to her room and a measly dinner of stale bread, hard jerky, and water, Sakura decided to make her move.

Incapacitating the assistant was simple enough—the poor girl hadn't been expecting it. But Sakura didn't have time to worry about anything but her own livelihood at the moment. She ran down the wide stone corridor, her footsteps echoing too loudly for her liking. She winced, hoping they only sounded so deafening to her ears because she was in a panic.

There were no voices shouting for her to stop or Sound shinobi tailing her. The place was empty and barren, like there wasn't a soul around for miles. Sakura found this odd, but right now she wasn't about to question her luck. She turned a corner and realized with a sense of elation that the hallway inclined. The walls were no longer damp around her, and she reasoned that she must be above ground now. Following a natural bend to the left, Sakura felt her spirits soar at the prospect of actually getting out of this place—

"Oof!"

Something hard stopped her trajectory and she fell backwards, landing unceremoniously on her rear. Sakura had to bite her lip to keep from yelping in pain, automatically registering that she must have bruised her tailbone. The person she'd run into was also on the floor in a heap. She didn't recognize the guy, but he wore a Sound hitai-ate. That was enough to tell Sakura that she did not want to stick around here any longer. Swiftly pulling herself up, Sakura ignored his shouts as she leaped over him and barrelled down the hallway.

_He's definitely going to sound the alarm, _she thought grimly. Someone had probably already found her unconscious guard by now too. Time was running out.

_Light?_

Sure enough, a shaft of what must have been moonlight shone through a small opening in the stone wall near the ceiling. Sakura could have cried at her luck. She didn't even stop her rush as she brought some of her recovered chakra to her fist and swung hard at the wall. Stone and cement shuddered and cracked under her might, crumbling away and leaving a gaping hole in the wall. There was now nothing standing between Sakura and the outside world.

_Run!_

Was it just her imagination, or did she hear footsteps heading in her direction from both corridors? Sakura didn't want to wait to find out, so she burst through her makeshift doorway and leaped outside into the cool night air. Unfamiliar with the area, she dashed blindly in the only direction that made sense—away from the base.

Whistling registered in her ears and her body, trained to react even before her mind could, stopped its mad dash just in time. Another step and Sakura would have been gored by a kunai.

"Who—" she began.

"Sakura."

Books and movies always talked about how the sound of one person's voice can literally petrify the body, like a rush of ice water or a glare of killer intent. For one horrifying moment, Sakura felt her entire body go rigid as the sound of her name spoken in that achingly familiar empty tone washed over her. An inexplicable fear gripped her fleetingly, but Sakura swallowed it down. There was no reason to fear _him._

"Sasuke?"

A figure cloaked in shadows stood atop the perimeter wall looking down at her. The moonlight shining behind him darkened his silhouette until all Sakura could see was black and red. Hauntingly beautiful Sharingan stared down at her. For several breaths, Sakura and Sasuke just watched each other through the gloom.

"Sasuke," Sakura said again, now extremely relieved that she'd run into him. With Sasuke here, she could definitely escape!

He seemed to snap out of whatever trance had kept him immobile atop the wall and jumped down, closing the distance to his estranged teammate. "So you really are here."

"Sasuke, thank god. Please, we have to go now," she said, taking a step toward him. "Sound shinobi will be out here any minute."

"Go?"

The yelling got louder and Sakura swore she could hear someone start to climb through the debris from her earlier destruction. Panic gripped her as she felt her escape window begin to narrow dangerously. Without really thinking, she reached out and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"Yes, _go!"_ she hissed. "You know these grounds better than I do, so you have to lead." Sakura looked up into glowing crimson eyes as they stared down at her. If she wasn't afraid for her life at the moment, she might have appreciated the fact that she was finally reunited with the boy she loved after so many years of separation. She'd missed him so much...

"Follow me," he said suddenly.

Sakura didn't have time to be surprised because he tugged her by their clasped hands and broke into a run. She almost tripped as she tried to maintain his pace. They skirted the wall, leaving her pursuers behind. Belatedly, Sakura realized that the infallible pounding sound she'd grown accustomed to over the last two days could no longer be heard. It was a reassuring feeling.

They dashed under a shaft of moonlight shining through the trees and Sakura caught a glimpse of a small Uchiha fan on the collar of Sasuke's shirt just beneath his slightly longer hair. A smile found its way onto Sakura's face as she suddenly registered that she was with Sasuke and they were escaping together. Naruto was mistaken, she decided. Sasuke would always help them when it counted, just as he was clearly doing now.

A yank on her hand signified a change in direction. The sudden jerking motion made Sakura stumble and she pulled on Sasuke's hand for balance. He never slowed, but she noticed that he looked back at her briefly.

"I'm okay, just go!" Sakura said.

She could not see well in the darkness even with the small illumination afforded them by the crescent moon. But when the grassy earth beneath her suddenly started to make clacking sounds under her heeled boots, Sakura started to wonder if Sasuke had somehow taken a wrong turn. Stone walls rose up around them and the sound of their shoes bounced off the walls, giving the illusion of twenty runners instead of two.

"Sasuke, where are we going?" she said, taking care to keep her voice quiet enough not to draw more attention but loud enough for him to hear her over their running.

He didn't answer; he merely dragged her along with him. Wall torches danced to life and Sakura got the distinct impression that they were heading below ground. A sudden panic took hold of her then. Down was definitely _not _the right direction.

"Sasuke, stop!" she said, trying to pull back and slow their pace.

By then they had reached a spacious room. Sensing her resistance, Sasuke slowed to a stop but did not release his grip on her hand. Now thoroughly confused, Sakura panted and looked around her. The room was sparsely furnished, but the dim lighting made shadows dance along the walls like spectres.

"I was wondering when you would attempt an escape. Kabuto was so sure that you were smart enough not to run, but I knew it would come to this eventually."

Sakura felt her stomach seem to rush into her throat at the sound of that voice. She began to pant harder and not because she was out of breath from exertion. Out of instinct she squeezed Sasuke's hand—the only source of comfort afforded her.

Orochimaru smirked at the pair through the flickering firelight. The mingling light and shadow gave him the appearance of an otherworldly wraith come to pass judgement on the damned.

"What... What is..." Sakura struggled to find her voice as she battled with an inner force screaming at her that something was _not right_.

"Well done, Sasuke," Orochimaru said through the false gloom. "You played your part perfectly."

"I'm not here to watch your prisoners, Orochimaru," Sasuke said. "She's Kabuto's responsibility, not mine."

_What?_

"Sasuke?" Sakura said, bewildered. What has he saying?

Sasuke turned around to face her finally, his eyes red and unforgiving.

_Cold fire..._

Orochimaru laughed at that moment. It was rich and full, not unlike the way Sasori had laughed when she'd ripped out Orochimaru's tongue in their battle. That seemed like ages ago now. It took Sakura a moment to realize that he seemed to laughing at _her_.

"Sasuke, you're scaring her," Orochimaru said, although the way it came out gave the impression that this was exactly the reaction he wanted.

Sakura only blinked, looking between the two shinobi. Orochimaru, the locus of her horror and Sasuke, her only comfort and sanctuary...

"Sasuke," she said, hating how her voice shook. "Tell me what's going on. Why did you bring me here?"

_Please, Sasuke..._

The last Uchiha looked back at her with those cold, hard eyes that she'd thought were so pretty when she was younger. She loved those eyes; she loved _him. _Their hands were still clasped together tightly.

"Sasuke..."

"Ah, Sakura," Kabuto said. "You disappoint me, truly."

He'd appeared through the far entrance and was leaning against the doorframe, his glasses reflecting the light like a cat's eyes. Sasuke and Sakura both turned to face the newcomer.

"Sakura is going to help me improve Orochimaru-sama's health," Kabuto said, addressing Sasuke. "Then you'll have even more opportunities to train and become stronger."

"Just make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm not here to clean up after you, Kabuto," Sasuke said.

Sakura could not believe her ears. This wasn't happening, right? She must be dreaming... "Sasuke, you would never side with them over me, right?" she said, looking down at their clasped hands. "You're not really handing me over to them."

Orochimaru chuckled softly, and she just knew he was enjoying this immensely. She felt intensely embarrassed all of a sudden as she wondered if the snake Sannin had predicted that things would unfold like this. Her stomach turned uncomfortably.

_Just a bad dream..._

Sasuke pulled his hand away from hers then, snapping her out of her trance. She lifted her head and met his gaze once more.

"I don't have time for you right now, Sakura."

"Sasu—"

"Orochimaru," he interrupted, turning away from her to address his teacher. "You're supposed to train me tomorrow."

"Of course," Orochimaru said in that silky soft tone that made Sakura sick.

Sasuke turned back around and walked past Sakura toward the entrance they'd passed through together. He didn't look back at her, and Sakura found that she didn't have the voice to call out to him.

Something inside her broke as she watched him walk away from her, the small Uchiha fan shrinking ever smaller until the shadows engulfed him. He was gone.

"Well my dear, I do hope your reunion with Sasuke was everything you hoped it would be," Orochimaru said.

Sakura barely heard him as she stared into the gloom where Sasuke had disappeared.

_He left me._

A painful grip on her shoulder startled her and Sakura was too slow to fight off her assailant. She didn't move fast enough to stop the needle that pricked the skin of her upper arm. White-hot liquid fire flowed through her from the needle puncture and she collapsed to the ground on her knees, ready to vomit.

"Since you betrayed my limited faith in you, I'll have to take the proper precautions to avoid a repeat of this unfortunate situation," Kabuto said from somewhere above her, his voice colder than usual.

Sakura panted and gripped her arm, but she only half paid attention to Kabuto. She could not get the look of cold disdain in Sasuke's beautiful red eyes out of her head.

"_He's not like he used to be."_

Naruto's warning echoed in her head as the world slowly dimmed and Kabuto hoisted her up. She didn't want to believe those words, and she didn't want to believe that Sasuke had truly just abandoned her to people he knew wanted to take advantage of her, perhaps deliberately hurt her or worse. The Sasuke she knew would never abandon a teammate.

"_He tried to kill me."_

She was back in her cell room before she knew it with Kabuto gently laying her down on the thin bed and covering her with a blanket. He looked down at her through large round glasses and Sakura stared back, unseeing.

"You'll start work on Orochimaru-sama tomorrow. I expect there won't be any more resistance from now on. It would be a shame to have to resort to force."

Sakura didn't reply and Kabuto took that as his cue to leave. He locked the door behind him, leaving Sakura in the company of only dreams and darkness.

She didn't even have the energy to cry as sleep took her.


	7. The Dragon and the Dark Knight

Zero Hour - Chapter 7: The Dragon and the Dark Knight  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." - G. K. Chesterton

* * *

"What do you mean, you couldn't _find _her? What kind of a sorry excuse is that?"

Sai could not bring himself to look Naruto in the eye, but he imagined the look in the latter's eyes as he barely kept his voice from screaming. Instead he kept his gaze downcast as he calmly explained what had happened. "It was some kind of trap. They were waiting—"

"You're _ANBU _for crying out loud! What the _hell _were you doing out there?"

Sai blinked but still did not look up. Naruto's feral growl was the only warning before Sai felt something hard connect with his jaw, snapping his head around and making him stumble. He hadn't even bothered trying to avoid the hit. Pain blossomed across his face from the point of contact with Naruto's fist and his vision danced. Clawed hands ripped into his shirt front and pulled him up before he could regain his balance. Sai tried to blink the intense physical pain away but the only thing he could see was red.

"Fucking _look at me_ when I'm talking to you!"

As Sai's vision began to clear, he realized that he was not seeing things. Naruto's eyes had bled to red, the pupils slitted until they resembled a cat's eyes. His canines were elongated and his blond hair crackled with red sparks. But most alarming of all were the tears in his eyes as he glared desperately at Sai, as if all the answers lay with him. For all the power of his demon, Naruto could do nothing to help their missing female teammate like this.

"Naruto," Sai said, his voice quiet and thick. Something twisted uncomfortably in his chest, but it wasn't physical pain. Belatedly, he wondered if this was what it felt like to be sad for a friend. He didn't like the feeling at all. "I'm sorry."

The anger and desperation melted from Naruto's visage as the sinister red chakra dissipated and his eyes reclaimed their blue coloring, shining brightly with unshed tears. Naruto's grip on Sai's shirt loosened and they stared at each other, each at a loss for what to do.

"I already lost one teammate to Orochimaru," Naruto said, looking at Sai but not really seeing him. "I will not lose another."

A strong wind blew through the training grounds where Naruto had been working on his secret technique. Sai had come here while Kurenai delivered the bad news to the Hokage, insisting that Naruto be informed immediately lest he hear it from someone else. He owed the blonde that much after everything he'd done for him. Sai raised a hand up and gripped Naruto's shoulder in a gesture he'd read somewhere was meant to reassure.

"You won't lose her," he said. "I promise."

Naruto released him finally, an unreadable look in his eyes. "That's not something you can promise."

"I can," Sai said. "Because I know she won't choose Sasuke over you. Not like this."

Naruto let out a strangled breath, letting his eyes fall and his fists clench. "You don't even know what you're talking about."

_"What will you do if Sasuke cannot be saved?"_

_"What I've always done. I'll continue to get stronger so that I can protect the people I love for as long as I'm able."_

Sai closed his eyes as the memory returned to him. "Yes, I do." After a moment he added, "I'll help you find her."

"_We're in this together."_

"You better," Naruto snarled, but the fight was not really in him anymore. "You're a part of this team, so you're just as responsible for her as I am."

With that, Naruto turned from him and walked away, not once looking back.

* * *

A particularly plump bead of sweat trickled down Sakura's temple as she winced with the strain of concentration. It felt like someone was digging needles into every inch of her body the more chakra she used.

"Tell me what you see," Kabuto commanded.

Sakura suddenly realized that she was breathing heavily and let her hands slip to her sides. Orochimaru looked up at her from his comfortable position on a bed.

"It's hard to say," she said, her voice a bit shaky. "Being that this is only the first sweep, there's a lot to digest."

"I'm sure a medic with your reputation should be able to process information quickly and efficiently," Orochimaru said, sitting up.

Sakura bit her cheek. _In other words, work faster or there will be nasty consequences._

"Take a break for now, Sakura," Kabuto said. "The agent I administered is intended to sap chakra and discourage access, so if you use too much of your limited supply you'll pass out."

Sakura barely managed a nod, trying to ignore the way Orochimaru just watched her with his enigmatic golden eyes. It was impossible to glean his mood, let alone what he was thinking.

"Sakura," the snake shinobi said suddenly. "Join me for dinner tonight. I'd like to speak with you outside of a medical context."

Sakura gaped, unsure if she'd heard him correctly. "I, um..."

"I'll have the servers set another place tonight," Kabuto said.

"No need," Orochimaru said, turning to look at his trusted second hand. "It will just be the two of us."

Sakura felt queasy at the thought of a one-on-one dinner with Orochimaru, of all people. As much as she loathed Kabuto, she suddenly felt threatened by the knowledge that he would not be there with them.

Kabuto pursed his lips, but otherwise gave no outward sign that he was displeased with the dismissal. "Of course, Orochimaru-sama."

Turning back to Sakura, he grabbed her by the elbow and forced her to stand up from the uncomfortable wooden chair she'd been occupying during her medical inquiry. He then excused them both from Orochimaru's asphyxiating presence and proceeded to lead her back to her cell room.

"Hold still," he said once they'd arrived.

Sakura's eyes widened as she watched Kabuto produce a syringe and tap the sides to eliminate any air bubbles. She knew what it was for.

"You already sealed most of my chakra," she said, taking a step back.

"Yes, but the agent only works for a limited amount of time. I'll have to administer more doses to keep your chakra regulated." He paused and looked at her pointedly. "You'll be alone with Orochimaru-sama tonight, so forgive me if I prefer to cover all my bases."

Sakura bared her teeth as Kabuto roughly gripped her shoulder. She resisted. "I'm exhausted as it is! There's no need for this as long as I cooperate—"

A searing pain cut her off as her shoulder glowed green under Kabuto's hand. He'd deliberately injured her. In her shock she was unable to prevent him from giving her another dose of the chakra sealing agent. The bastard had the nerve to stick it near the same spot as the last dose, igniting a familiar burning pain all along her arm. Sakura bit her lip and forced herself to remain silent. She would not give Kabuto the satisfaction of knowing that he was hurting her.

When he released her, Sakura stumbled backwards and fell onto the bed in a slumped sitting position. Furious green eyes glared up at him through pink bangs. Kabuto merely observed her with seeming disinterest.

"I'll expect a report from you on your findings. You can write them down there." He indicated a small desk and the pen and paper than had been brought in previously. "I'll be back in a few hours."

With that he turned and left her to her devices. Her shoulder was already beginning to turn an alarming shade of violet. It looked like he'd used his chakra to rip her shoulder muscles, causing internal bleeding. It throbbed horribly.

_When I get out of here, I'm going to kill him._

Sakura felt the urge to cry but held her tears at bay. Even though Kabuto was gone, she would not give him even this small victory over her. Gingerly so as not to further agitate her shoulder wound, she lay down on her good side and tried to get comfortable. A couple of hours of sleep sounded marvelous right about now.

The pounding noise was back. Sakura closed her eyes and ignored the tightening in her throat. She had a pretty good hunch that it was the sound of Sasuke's training. She could only imagine what he was doing that made such a racket, and she decided she didn't really want to know.

"_He's not like he used to be."_

"I just can't accept that, Naruto," she whispered to herself.

"_I don't have time for you right now, Sakura."_

Why did he have to say that? Why did he have to say it like she was just old gum under his shoe? Looking back on that moment, Sakura wanted to punch the living daylights out of him. But maybe... Maybe he was just waiting for the opportune moment. Maybe he was just putting on an act because he knew that escaping at that time would have been futile. Sakura wanted to believe that he would help her and that he was just biding his time until the chances of success were at their highest. She had to believe in him just like Naruto had urged her to. Underneath it all he was still Uchiha Sasuke, their teammate and friend, the boy she loved. He was family.

Sleep finally claimed her as Sakura tried in vain to convince herself that this would all end soon and that Sasuke would come for her.

* * *

When dinner time arrived, Kabuto led Sakura to the dinning room which was surprisingly clean and well-lit compared to some of the other rooms and hallways she'd been in. For some reason she'd expected Orochimaru to dwell in the shadows like a predator lying in wait for its prey. To see him sitting at the head of a long table sipping a glass of what must have been red wine and tapping a finger on a silver fork was almost disappointing.

"How good of you to join me, my dear," he said.

_Not like I had any say in the matter..._

"Kabuto, leave us."

Kabuto nodded, again giving no indication of his true feelings about this. Suddenly, Sakura found herself alone with one of Konoha's most infamous renegades.

"Sit," Orochimaru said, indicating the chair at the opposite head of the table.

Sakura obeyed, somewhat relieved that he hadn't told her to sit next to him.

_Small mercies._

Immediately, a server appeared to pour her a glass of wine. Sakura watched the dark red liquid splash into her glass, swishing with a viscosity higher than what she would have imagined. Perhaps it was merely her blurry vision playing tricks on her. The few hours of rest had done very little for her health as the agent sapped her strength and made her whole body ache.

"Drink."

Sakura blinked at the one word commands. Was he just going to order her through this dinner? An image of Orochimaru in a sergeant's uniform with a ruler and commanding an army of pink-haired girls to eat in sync would have made her snort in dark amusement had she not feared that he may react in a very negative way to being the butt of a joke. Instead, she did as she was told. It tasted a little sour, but Sakura was no wine connoisseur. She decided Orochimaru didn't need to hear her opinion of the drink.

"There's no need to be alarmed, Sakura. You are a guest here."

This time she did snort. Unfortunately, she immediately regretted it. Orochimaru simply watched her, as if he were examining his nails for imaginary imperfections. Sakura swallowed.

"This is hardly the way a guest should be treated," she said cautiously.

"Well, I can't have you running around and breaking down any more walls."

Sakura was going to respond to that but more servers took that time to bring out the food. Her eyes widened in surprise at the lavish display. There was a roasted leg of lamb and at least four different types of potatoes boiled, baked, or roasted and topped with rosemary, lemon, and butter. Cooked vegetables and fresh fruit of a number of varieties flanked the main courses. Orochimaru nodded to one of the servers, apparently an indication that it was alright for them to prepare the individual portions. After a few minutes of silent but efficient work, Sakura found a plate set before her with an assortment of different foods ready for the taking. Her mouth watered. She hadn't had a decent meal since leaving Konoha, and this looked like a bit of heaven on earth.

Clinking sounds drew her attention as she saw Orochimaru cut a small piece of lamb and eat it, his movements delicate and practiced. She wondered if he'd learned his rather excellent table manners in Konoha or with Akatsuki, but something told her it would be better not to ask. With nothing else to do, she lifted shaking hands and began to eat. Each sawing motion of her knife sent lancing pain to her blackened shoulder, but the taste of the food was enough to dull it while she heartily dug in. Maybe this wasn't quite so bad?

"I'm curious," Orochimaru said suddenly. "What prompted you to take Sasori's side in our last encounter?"

Sakura immediately froze and slowly looked up to see Orochimaru looking at her rather casually, his food forgotten. She finished chewing her last bite and swallowed. Ever since he'd proposed this bizarre dinner, Sakura had been wondering what his motives were. Poison her? Get information out of her? Or maybe he just wanted to spend some time with her? That last one seemed far more disturbing than any other option.

"Why do you ask?"

"I did some digging," he began, swirling his wine glass to oxidize the blood red liquid. "It seems that your fight against Sasori was quite brutal. Knowing him as well as I do, I can't imagine someone like you ever working with the likes of him."

_Is this some kind of trick question?_

She decided it wouldn't hurt to give the safest answer—the truth. "I just decided that we both had similar objectives at the time, so it was only logical to team up."

Orochimaru took a sip of his wine, taking his time to savor the aged drink. Sakura began to fidget as she waited for him to say something. Maybe he didn't like her answer?

"That's...very interesting," he said finally.

When he didn't elaborate, Sakura decided she didn't need to give him a reason to keep talking and went back to eating.

"Sasori is not the type to work with others. The way you two fought almost made me believe that you'd collaborated many times before."

Sakura stopped mid-bite and slowly looked up to see her dinner partner staring into his wine glass, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"I'm not sure what you're getting at, but nothing like that has ever happened before. I didn't even know Sasori was alive until he showed up that day."

Orochimaru's auriferous eyes flickered to her and Sakura felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. "And yet, everything worked out so well for the both of you in the end. It's funny how that happened, don't you think?"

_Not if you take into account how it landed me here..._

"It was a necessary risk. I wouldn't have left there alive if I'd taken your side," she said, feeling a little bolder now that she had some food in her stomach and Orochimaru didn't seem to be acting hostile or scary for the time being.

"Yes, it was very risky. He made quite the gamble on you."

Sakura frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Seeing the confusion on her features, Orochimaru smiled in a way that made her think he was hiding something. He looked away and popped a grape in his mouth.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

Now Sakura was thoroughly baffled. Why was Orochimaru asking her these questions? Why was he so interested in Sasori? Maybe he wanted to kill Sasori even now? Whatever grudge existed between the two of them must run as thick and deep as boiled tar. Bad blood like that usually festered until something set it off, much like the explosive battle that had erupted between them a few months ago. Sakura could only wonder at what had happened between them.

"I haven't seen him," she said after a moment's hesitation. "And I'm glad about that."

Any air of nonchalance suddenly melted away as Orochimaru's reptilian eyes bore into her. "Are you certain? I may lose my temper if I find out you lied to me."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat as Orochimaru's killer intent hit her. It was only for a moment, but she felt the same fear for her life that she'd felt the day they fought and he looked at her with undiluted hatred in his eyes.

"Because Sasori does not usually concern himself with living people unless something very particular catches his eye. Now think very carefully, my dear." Orochimaru sat back in his chair and swirled his wine glass some more. "Has Sasori been in contact with you?"

Sakura had lost her voice. Terrified that Orochimaru might resort to more extreme interrogation methods, she wracked her brain for something that would appease him. She'd been confined to Konoha for the past few months ever since she returned from that battle. She'd spent all her time in the hospital saving lives, not off having clandestine meetings with S-class criminals miraculously back from the dead. If anything, she'd been expecting Sasori to show up one day out of the blue to repay his perceived debt to her, but that never happened. And now that she was trapped here, it probably never would.

Sakura let her head hang a little as she took a deep breath and tried to swallow her fear. Then she looked up and tried to muster up as much courage as she could. "No, not at all."

Orochimaru finished the last sip of his wine and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. The whole dinner ordeal seemed too surreal coming from a person like him, and Sakura felt her skin crawl.

"I see," he finally said, the severity gone from his tone.

A few minutes passed in silence and Sakura was unsure if they were going to continue talking or if she would be excused. She didn't want to be around the creepy missing nin any longer, especially now that she was full. Her head was pounding and all she wanted to do now was sleep and forget that she'd been drugged. She was about to excuse herself when footsteps drew her attention.

"Sasuke, would you care for some dinner?" Orochimaru said.

Sakura felt her body go rigid at the sound of that name. Slowly, she turned her head to the side and caught sight of the last Uchiha standing in the doorway looking bored. They made eye contact briefly, but he did not acknowledge her presence otherwise.

"No."

Orochimaru seemed unperturbed by the rejection of his offer. "Take Sakura back to her room."

At that, Sakura's breath hitched. Sasuke didn't even flinch, but he did narrow his eyes at his teacher.

"It's the one in the south wing," Orochimaru added.

There was a moment's pause during which Sakura truly did not know what course of action Sasuke would take. Dark eyes turned on her and Sakura held her breath.

"Don't lag behind," he said, turning around and waiting outside the door.

Jumping at the opportunity to get away from Orochimaru, Sakura ignored the wave of nausea and full-body aching that spiked as she pulled herself up and made to follow Sasuke.

"Oh, and Sakura," Orochimaru called.

Sakura bit her tongue and tasted blood. Reluctantly she turned her head around enough to see him properly.

"Do think about what I said. Sometimes I find that an answer comes to you when you least expect it."

Sakura just nodded, not even caring that she didn't really get what he was trying to say, if he was even insinuating anything at all. She all but bolted out of the dining room and joined Sasuke in the hallway. As soon as he saw her join him, he took off at a steady walk down the corridor. Sakura had to walk faster than her usual pace to keep up with his longer strides.

They proceeded in silence for a few moments as Sakura debated what to say to him or whether she should even speak. Memories of his flippancy from the other night returned to her and she clenched her fists. That had to be an act, she reasoned. Sasuke would never betray his teammates when they needed him most, right?

"Sasuke," she said, barely above a whisper.

The Uchiha fan waved back at her through the dim hall lighting. The only sounds as they walked where the soft clacking of their shoes on the stone floor and the faint clink of Sasuke's katana in its sheath. He didn't answer her.

"Sasuke, please say something," she tried again.

Still nothing. Doubt chipped away at her resolve like cracks in a mirror. She decided to force him to acknowledge her and reached out to grab the back of his shirt. "Sasuke—"

He stopped his progress all of a sudden and Sakura nearly ran into him. Slowly and deliberately, he turned to look at her. "What."

Sakura blinked, having expected a little more than a one word response. She swallowed and tried to compose herself under his heavy scrutiny. "I don't know why you did what you did the other night," she began. "But I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding."

When he didn't interrupt her, she felt a little bolder.

"I know that it's been a long time since... And we're both older now, but I never stopped thinking about you. Naruto and I... We miss you every day and—"

"I'm not interested in your feelings, Sakura. Save your breath."

Sakura stopped mid-sentence, taken aback at his cold dismissal. _No, he's always been like that. He's always been cold, but he's a good person._

"Sasuke," she tried again, ignoring the small voice wailing helplessly inside her somewhere that this would not end well. "I'm not supposed to be here. I don't _want _to be here. You have to help me escape, _please."_

He stayed silent, but Sakura saw his jaw clench visibly at her words.

"They're drugging me and hurting me. They want me to perform some impossible medical miracle to perfect Orochimaru's body transfer, the one he's going to use on you."

Her voice cracked at the thought of Orochimaru in Sasuke's body. _No._

"Please, I have to get back to Konoha," she entreated him. "I don't belong here. You are like family to Naruto and me—"

Any sympathy that Sasuke had been feeling evaporated and turned to anger in that moment. His eyes flashed red and he glared menacingly at her. It wasn't the kind of glare he used to throw at her when she was being annoying and flirting with him when they were twelve, but something darker and more desperate. He didn't look like Sasuke.

"Family?" he hissed. "My family is dead. I _have _no family."

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant—"

"You and Naruto are no longer a part of my life," he interrupted her. "I left for a reason; I have to kill my brother and I won't stop until I do."

"But Sasuke please, you're my _teammate. _You're the only one who can help me right now."

He looked at her hard, unsure what to say as anger twisted his features. He let out a sharp breath. "This is not my problem."

Tears stung her eyes as she felt his rejection like a slap on the face. Didn't she mean anything to him? Didn't he realize that without him, she would rot away and likely die in this lonely place? Didn't he _care?_

At the sight of her misty eyes, Sasuke looked at the ground between them and not at her. "I can't...do anything for you right now. There are more important things I need to concentrate on."

Sakura could not believe what she was hearing. It took her a moment to register that the shaking sensation was not an earthquake but her own trembling body as the truth of Sasuke's cruel words washed over her. "More important than helping a teammate?" She opened her eyes and searched for his, vision blurry through the haze of fresh tears.

_Tell me this isn't happening..._

"Sakura... I'm sorry."

He turned around without looking at her and continued walking down the hall toward her cell. Sakura could only follow, as if in a trance. She kept trying to tell herself that this was just a bad dream and that she'd be waking up soon. Hell, even waking up in that uncomfortable bed with Kabuto leering down at her with a needle would be a welcome sight. Anything would be better than this...

"You're not Sasuke," she said softly when they arrived at the door to her cell.

He pressed his lips together and faced her again. "This is always who I've been. You know that."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You're not the boy I love."

He looked at her for a long while and Sakura wanted to claw those uncaring eyes out of his beautiful face. She would always wonder what he was thinking in that suspended moment in time as he watched her. Finally, he unlocked the door to her room and stepped aside.

"That boy doesn't exist anymore," he said softly.

Sakura didn't have the energy to care that he was seeing her tears. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, as if she was watching this tragic event unfold between characters in a storybook with no emotional attachment to her whatsoever. But when she found herself alone in that dark, cold cell with no chakra and an unbearable pain that she couldn't distinguish as physical or emotional, she couldn't ignore reality any longer.

"_Those who break the rules are trash, but those who betray their teammates are worse than trash."_

Sakura sank down onto the lumpy bed and wrapped herself in a thin blanket as best she could without further agitating her shoulder. The tears were silent and hot, and they almost felt nice against her cold skin.

"Sasuke..."

_I'm really going to die here._

But far worse than the thought of her own mortality was the realization that Naruto's warning, Sai's warning, _everyone's warnings _were coming true right before her eyes. And there was nothing she could do to refute them any longer.

* * *

The next week dragged by in a tired blur for Sakura. She spent her time reading through all the research Kabuto had logged on Orochimaru's condition, examining Orochimaru herself, and writing down her findings. It didn't last long because Kabuto was smart and knew she was holding back her true theories. Every other night she was given a fresh dose of the sealing agent to keep her chakra in check. It was after a few days that Sakura began to realize that she was regaining less and less chakra over time, and that it became increasingly painful to access the small amount that did return. She had a feeling of foreboding about her health as every day she grew weaker and more lethargic. Maybe she would get lucky and the next dose would be enough to put her out of her misery before she had to break the bad news to Kabuto that nothing they did was going to help Orochimaru.

She barely saw Sasuke anymore, and when she did it was usually from a distance. Something told her that he was avoiding her on purpose, which actually had the effect of giving her some small hope that he felt guilty about his treatment of her. But it made little difference because he obviously wasn't making any moves to help her. Her hope for escape dwindled more and more with each passing day.

Orochimaru didn't bring up Sasori again, but she got the eerie impression that he was thinking carefully about her plea of ignorance on the matter. Well, she couldn't very well tell him what she didn't know. Still, it was unsettling that she would catch him watching her with an unreadable expression sometimes when she was working on him, like he was trying to glean some concealed truth through observation alone. Lying to him would not be a good idea, and she was mildly relieved that she'd been upfront with him on the issue from the get go.

"Sakura, I think it's time that you told me what you're hiding."

Sakura looked up through bleary eyes at Kabuto leaning forward on his knees in the only chair in her room. She tried to raise herself up, but all she managed was a pathetic slumped position on her bed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kabuto sighed before standing up and closing the distance to her. Sakura recoiled, but he was healthy and at full chakra capacity, so she was no match for his speed. A terrible pain exploded in her knee as Kabuto's deadly medical chakra clawed at the ligaments holding her patella in place. A yelp escaped her as she tried to squirm away from him and paw at his hands, but he held firm. Desperate, Sakura made a swipe at his face and ended up scraping against something sharp. Kabuto swore under his breath. She'd managed to crack his glasses and shove some of the glass into the skin at his temple. Blood ran down Kabuto's face and smeared Sakura's palm. But he ignored it and ripped off the mangled eye ware. Then he grabbed both of her wrists and forced her to look at him.

"I told you that there would be consequences if you refused to cooperate," he said, clearly no longer in any kind of mood to compromise. "I gave you plenty of opportunities to come clean, but all you've done is spit in my face. If you were anyone else, I would have taken you apart from the inside out."

Sakura stared, wide-eyed, at this very angry version of Kabuto. She'd never seen him like this, and it was downright terrifying. It almost made her forget the lancing pain in her knee as his tirade swept her away.

"Now, this is what we're going to do," he said, his voice eerily calm. "You are going to tell me whatever it is that you're holding back right now. If you refuse, I'll have to start relieving you of your appendages."

Sakura was biting the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood. He was dead serious right now, and she found herself believing every word he said about taking her apart limb from limb. There was no getting around this any longer.

"O-Okay, I'll tell you," she rasped. "Please, let me go."

Kabuto stared at her intently for a moment, gauging whether or not to believe this new eagerness to cooperate. Finally, he released her wrists and retreated to his chair. He looked older without his trademark glasses, which was somewhat off-putting coming from him. "Why don't you start by telling me exactly what the problem is as you see it."

Sakura knew she was shaking like a leaf, but she didn't care right now. All that was on her mind was how to get him out of her room as fast as possible. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain in her leg. "We already talked about how the vessel's chakra eats away at Orochimaru's until it rejects him violently," she began. "I already told you that there's no way to fix that."

Kabuto narrowed his eyes at her. "There must be a way."

Sakura clenched her fists. "It's impossible because he is a foreign entity. Organ transplants work in a similar way. It's possible that the host may reject the transplant; that's part of what makes them so risky."

"_May,_" Kabuto appended. "That means you have an alternative theory."

She swallowed. He was too sharp for his own good. "Yes, but it's not feasible as far as I can tell. The only way for Orochimaru's chakra not to be rejected is if the vessel's original chakra was already accepting of it. But everyone has his or her own unique chakra signature and no two are alike, so you can see the problem."

Sakura wasn't looking at Kabuto when she said this, expecting him to reject this explanation because it clearly demonstrated that his efforts were futile. Instead, he remained silent. After a moment of no response, Sakura chanced a look. He had a pensive expression on his face.

"Impossibility aside, your understanding is that Orochimaru-sama could only occupy a vessel for the long term if it was already used to accepting his chakra," Kabuto finally spoke.

"Yes, I suppose that's right, but it's the chicken and the egg. I don't see how it would be possible under any circumstances, especially with the expedited necrosis caused by his sealed hands."

Kabuto's look immediately returned to that false air of politeness once more. "I see. Thank you for your insight."

He rose and procured a familiar syringe from his pocket and snapped off the cap. Sakura had to physically restrain herself from wimpering at the sight. Sadly, at this level of enfeeblement she had no strength to fend him off. Liquid fire crawled through the veins in her arm to spread throughout her frail body.

_I am so pathetic._

But there was nothing she could do anymore after a week of such treatment. Kabuto withdrew the now empty syringe and turned to leave.

"Let me go," Sakura found herself pleading. "There's nothing more I can do. So please..."

Kabuto turned to look back at her. "Ah, Orochimaru-sama doesn't have a need for two medics."

"You promised that I would be returned to Konoha at the end of this."

"I promised that in the event that you were successful. But I was very clear about your fate in the case of failure."

Sakura wanted to hurt him. She wanted to gouge out his eyes with the glasses she broke earlier. She wanted to watch as Morino Ibiki tortured him until he didn't even remember his own name. But they were empty wishes that would never be granted. As he turned to leave her alone, Sakura knew that she wasn't leaving this place. She'd probably known it all along, but now it was as certain as the sun rises in the east.

"But I don't want to die here," she whispered.

The agent worked its magic and she fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The next thing Sakura knew she was being shaken by someone. The drug made her slow and dizzy, but at long last she managed to pull herself out of the dreadful sleep that usually came after receiving a fresh dose. She felt like she would fall unconscious at any moment, but the shaking was persistent, albeit gentle.

"Huh?" she mumbled, forcing her eyes open.

She'd been expecting to see Kabuto, as usual, but this person was not him. Instead, a man she half recognized stood above her with a vacant look in his eyes. It took her a moment to place his face, but she finally decided that he was the shinobi who usually stood guard at her door. But why would he be here now? And why was he waking her up?

_Oh god, it's time for me to die._

She knew it was coming, but she didn't know when. She thought she'd at least get the chance to see Sasuke again, but it seemed Orochimaru didn't intend to give her even that. She coughed, suddenly unable to breathe as her throat clenched.

"It's time to go," the guard said, having realized that she was finally awake. "Hurry."

Sakura, now a little more alert at his decidedly bizarre behavior, pushed herself up a bit. "What are you talking about?"

He produced a single kunai from a hidden pouch and held it out to her. Sakura tried to pull back on instinct as the sharp metal glinted in the dim hall light that flickered in through her open cell door.

Wait. Why was her door open?

"I don't understand," she blurted out, her eyes flickering between the kunai, the guard, and the door.

"It's time to leave. Do not argue," he said. "Keep right and move quickly."

Sakura was utterly baffled. What was he going on about? She opened her mouth to question him, but to her horror he raised the weapon to his throat and dragged it horizontally, ripping flesh and spraying hot blood all over the bed. Sakura gasped at the grisly scene. The guard made a garbled choking noise before slumping to the stone floor in a lifeless heap. His blood spilled forth at an alarming rate, already forming a small puddle beneath him.

For a couple seconds all Sakura could do was stare. There were drops of the man's blood on her face and splattered across the front of her clothes, but she didn't even notice in the wake of his unexpected and rather violent suicide.

_Why?_

The light from a torch in the hallway drew her eyes again, and suddenly Sakura decided that this was no time to sit here asking questions to which there were no apparent answers. She didn't know how or why this had happened, but it no longer mattered. The door to her prison was open and she had a kunai at her disposal. Even without chakra, the sight of the bloodied weapon gave her a small measure of comfort. She didn't even flinch as she pulled it from the guard's dead fingers, wiping the excess blood and tissue from the razor sharp blade.

She was at the door in a matter of seconds, breathing heavily as she tried to control the pain in her knee and the overall throbbing in her body from Kabuto's most recent drugging. This was not good. The damage he'd done to her leg would prevent her from walking properly, and running was out of the question. It didn't help that her head was swimming with the compounded effects of the chakra sealing agent. She bit her tongue until she tasted blood, trying to block out all of those facts and just focus on her new objective: escape with her life intact.

Sakura looked left then right then left again. Which way led to safety? If she chose wrong, she could end up falling right into Orochimaru's lap. The indecision was chipping away at her resolve to flee until suddenly she remembered something.

_He told me to keep right, _she thought, looking back at the figure of the dead guard soaking in his own blood. There was no way to know if she could trust his instruction, but right now she didn't have anything else to go on. Decided, Sakura hobbled down the hallway to her right past intermittently placed wall torches and imposing walls of damp stone. She gripped the bloody kunai in her hand until her knuckles were white, but it helped spur her on. If she ran into anyone she wouldn't stand much of a chance, but at least the kunai was better than nothing.

The hallway stretched farther and farther as Sakura tried her very best to skulk silently, passing by closed doors on either side. Finally, she came to a fork.

_Damnit, which way?_

Panic rose in her throat in the form of bile as she warred with herself about which corridor to take.

_Keep right._

There was nothing much left for her to lose, so she decided to put her faith in the dead guard and ignore the gnawing fear and doubt. The right corridor curved ever so slightly, and after a few minutes Sakura found herself at yet another intersection. She didn't even waver this time, steadfastly taking the right fork. But her flight would not be so easy, she knew. When a door knob twisted at her left, Sakura thought she would have a heart attack. The heavy wooden door creaked open and Sakura immediately pressed herself against the wall behind it. Voices met her ears as she realized with a sinking feeling that there were two of them.

"...said we'd have all day tomorrow."

"That's bullshit, man. You know Orochimaru-sama wouldn't waste a whole day without training the Uchiha kid."

Sakura barely heard their conversation over the deafening pounding of her heart in her ears.

_I have one chance, _she thought to herself as the door opened more and the two began to pass through it. They had their backs to her. The first speaker was about to respond to his friend's comment when Sakura made her move. Summoning up what little strength she had, she swiftly swung her kunai in a deadly arc until it collided with the side of the his neck. She felt the spray of warm blood grease her fingers as her weapon sank in all the way to the hilt. The man never knew what hit him. Sakura wasted no time yanking the weapon free as his partner gasped in shock at the surprise attack.

_Move!_

But he was a shinobi and in much better shape than she currently was. He artfully ducked to the side as Sakura swung her kunai at his throat, slamming sideways against the wall.

"Shit," he growled, trying to regain his balance.

It didn't take him long as Sakura suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a punch. She managed to twist just in time and he grazed her shoulder where Kabuto had injured her previously. Tears stung her eyes as a blinding pain made her see stars for half a breath. But this was her only chance to escape and she'd be damned if she let it slip through her fingers because of some unnamed Sound lackey.

With a grunt of effort as she fought through the excruciating pain of her various injuries and handicaps, Sakura used the momentum from her enemy's last hit to spin around and drive her kunai into the base of his skull. The shinobi emitted a ghastly gurgling sound as he suddenly went limp and fell against the wall, his head bashing into the stone with a sickening crack. Sakura panted and her pains returned to her in full force. The urge to vomit tempted her as she put out a hand to steady herself against the bloodied wall.

_I have to keep moving._

Gritting her teeth, Sakura once more retrieved her kunai and made to trudge ever forward. She didn't even bother to wipe away the brain matter and blood from the blade this time, her only thoughts on moving forward. As she pressed onward hugging the right wall, she thought she heard shouts from somewhere behind her. The bodies had probably been found, she decided. It was only a matter of time before someone checked her cell and found the dead guard. They would be scouring the entire base looking for her, and she would never make it out. She had to find the exit before that happened.

"Please, let me out of here," she entreated the gloom as she pushed her aching body forward.

The shouts drew nearer, now accompanied by the telltale echo of footsteps. Sakura forced herself to hobble faster. So preoccupied was she with the sounds of her pursuers that she failed to notice the steady incline and feel of warm night breeze until just now.

_The exit!_

Sure enough, the sound of rustling leaves met her ears as she finally came upon the open entryway to the base. It occurred to her that this must be the way Sasuke had led her when he handed her over to Orochimaru before. Above her stars twinkled like so many sequins, as if they were smiling down on her. She could not believe her luck. The guard had been truthful! But why would he help her? It didn't add up, but voices coming from within the base brought her back to reality. The why's didn't matter; she just needed to get out of here.

With no walls to lean on for support out in the open, Sakura found that she wobbled precariously as she tried to limp faster and faster across the grass away from the base. The last time she was out here, she recalled Sasuke running along a perimeter wall. If she could just get to the other side of that wall, she might stand a chance to elude detection. Surely, they wouldn't expect her to make it that far. That thought spurred her onward as she swallowed the pain in her knee and forced herself to move faster. When voices and footsteps erupted from somewhere to her left, Sakura felt her fears return to her tenfold and she tripped. They were gaining on her and the wall was _so close. _

"No," she gritted out, pulling herself up even through the lancing pain in her leg and shoulder. "I will not die here like this!"

Laughter floated to her suddenly and she knew her time was up. Her pursuers had found her and couldn't contain their amusement at her pathetic attempt at escape. But she didn't listen. The wall loomed high above her, as if looking down at her in easy condescension. A choke escaped her lips as she realized she was out of options.

"End of the line, girly," a man's voice taunted her from the darkness behind her.

Footsteps approached her, but Sakura waited. If she was going to die, then she would take as many of these bastards with her as she could. When he was just upon her, she lashed out with her kunai. The weapon made sweet contact with the juncture between the man's knee and lower leg. Sakura pushed with the last dregs of her strength, twisting and grinding the weapon between bone and ligament. The man cried out and collapsed to one knee before falling to the side, trying desperately to wrench his leg away from the cornered kunoichi. Sakura pulled the kunai from his leg and immediately stabbed him in the face where she thought his eyes were. He fell silent almost on impact, dying as his blood greased her bony hands.

"Shit," another shinobi swore from behind her.

Several of them advanced on her, intending to gang up on her after seeing the gruesome way she'd dealt with their teammate. But just as Sakura thought this was the end and she would never fend off a group of them, something slammed into them and stopped their onslaught.

"Anngggghh!"

Under the light of the full moon, Sakura watched as her would-be assailants gripped their chests as if in pain. Then, to her complete shock, they fell to the ground and remained silent. Dead.

_How...?_

But before she had time to properly make sense of the situation, something tugged at her from above, pulling at her arms and legs. Sakura grunted as all the air left her lungs and she was suddenly flying through the air. The ground fell beneath her and she was pulled backwards like a human slingshot. As quickly as it began her trajectory halted and solid ground met the heeled soles of her boots. She would have fallen over at the extreme disorientation but something solid and warm secured her waist and held her steady. It took her a moment to blink the nausea away and understand her situation. Her hands were fisted in soft fabric and someone's arm held her up by the waist. The blue glow of chakra at her wrists in the form of translucent strings made her blink in confusion. Who...?

"You truly enjoy taking your sweet time."

Reality came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. She was standing on top of the perimeter wall with ease despite her severe leg injury. She didn't have control of her body and was being supported by some unseen force. And that steely voice, barely more than a mildly irritated whisper pierced through the haze of delirium and brought her back to life. This could not be real. _This could not be real!_

"S-Sasori?"

Under the light of the full moon his red hair was almost the shade of blood, but his honey eyes seemed almost inviting as he stared down at her. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry or fear for her life in new and creative ways now that he had her quite literally in his clutches.

"Clearly," he deadpanned.

Shouts from below drew her attention as more Sound shinobi approached the scene. Sakura caught sight of the fallen shinobi and, slightly to the pair's right, the airborne silhouette of Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet awaiting further instructions. It suddenly all made sense. The strange behavior of the cell guard, the deaths of the shinobi below them, all of it. Somehow, in defiance of everything Sakura thought she knew about the villain who was Akasuna no Sasori, he had just saved her from otherwise certain death. She tightened a fist in his shirt to draw his gaze, searching his visage for an answer.

"Why?"

He looked down at her with an unreadable glint in his pretty eyes, revealing nothing. "I told you; I always repay my debts."

Sakura blinked at him, utterly at a loss for words. This man who was her sworn enemy, the despicable villain through and through, against whom she'd fought one of the toughest battles of her life was helping her. He was _saving her life._

Obviously realizing that she wasn't going to respond due to shock, Sasori turned away from her. The Sound shinobi below had noticed him by now and were scrambling to formulate some plan of attack. But Sasori didn't like to drag things out, so he wasn't about to give them the time. Sakura watched in a state of rapidly dimming wakefulness as Sasori fluttered the fingers on his free hand and the Third Kazekage shifted into action.

"Satetsu shigure."

The puppet raised its arms and unleashed a deadly assault. Sakura stared with arrested fascination as small bullets of iron sand shot forth and impaled the Sound shinobi. They screamed and gripped their wounds. The few that weren't hit began launching projectile weapons at them, but Sasori maneuvered his favorite puppet to block them all with its ultimate iron defense. It was not lost on Sakura that some of them got away, likely running to inform Orochimaru or Kabuto of what was going on. Sasori's lips twisted in disgust.

Sakura felt her eyelids drooping as the adrenaline from her half-mad flight was fast wearing off. She was a jumble of pain and fatigue and nausea, barely able to stay conscious. Her body slumped despite Sasori's chakra strings forcing it to stand and her head fell forward onto his chest. He shifted.

"Sakura," he said, but he sounded so far away.

Fear and panic and even the hopelessness of her situation all faded into the background as Sakura was finally and blissfully lost to the world around her.


	8. The Ghost Corridor

Zero Hour - Chapter 8: The Ghost Corridor  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Our life is not so much threatened as our perception. Ghostlike we glide through nature, and should not know our place again." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Experience", _Essays_

* * *

_I don't want to wake up._

Pain tickled at the edges of her perception, lying in wait for the right moment to pounce and drag her under again. Somehow she knew this, and yet Sakura was certain that she was not awake. Floating and falling, time seemed to pass her by as pain and numbness warred for her attention.

_Please, let me sleep just a little longer._

Was this what it felt like to die? She'd imagined something more finite, more decisive than simply lingering in a place she should not be. What was she waiting for? Why was she even here?

"_Sakura... I'm sorry."_

No... No, no, no! _Anything but that._

_Sasuke—_

Pain rushed her like the gust of wind when a door opens, pulling her up and away like a fragile leaf uncontrolling of either direction or speed. The higher she flew, the heavier she felt. Was this the end? Or the beginning?

"_Sakura."_

_I don't want to wake up just yet._

"Sakura."

Something soft and solid hit her back, startling her awake as if she'd just landed after a long fall. Green eyes snapped open but immediately squinted as a vision of too-bright light flooded her sight, momentarily blinding her. The pain pulsed throughout her body but it wasn't unbearable, she realized after sucking in a few shallow breaths. She felt like she'd been running forever.

"You're finally awake."

Sakura blinked, realizing that yes, she was both awake and alive and feeling like she'd been chewed up and spit out. An attempt to swallow resulted in a prickling sensation in the back of her throat. She was dehydrated... How long had she been out?

Finally her vision cleared enough for her to take in her surroundings. She was lying on her back—mostly likely on a bed—and staring up at the ceiling. It was made completely of dark grey stone. A glance to her right showed the wall, presumably also stone but covered in a fine burgundy tapestry.

"Drink this."

Sakura squinted, suddenly aware of the person talking to her. But something was off. That voice...

Something slid under the back of her head and forced it up. At almost the same time, something cool and smooth touched her lips. But Sakura wasn't paying attention to the offered water because the sight of the person leaning just inches from her face brought back all the suppressed memories from just before she'd lost consciousness.

"S-Sa... Sa—"

She didn't get to finish because he pushed the glass of water against her lips and tilted it a bit, forcing her to imbibe the cold liquid. The moment it touched her parched throat, Sakura's focus returned to her body's needs and she greedily gulped it down. Having been a little too eager to relieve her raging thirst, she ended up choking on the third gulp and lapsed into a coughing fit. Fresh pain bloomed in her chest and reverberated through her frail body as she fell back onto the soft pillow and squeezed her eyes shut. It seemed like ages before the fit subsided and she collapsed, spent and even thirstier than before.

The sound of water sloshing softly drifted to her ears but she didn't have the energy to look for the source. Once more, a hand slipped behind her head and urged her up to take more water. Sakura complied and when the water met her lips this time she didn't rush to drink it down. Silence reigned as she forced herself to let the cool liquid trickle down her throat at a more sedate pace than before. This continued for another two refills of the glass, and all the while no one spoke.

_Why?_

The question she'd posed returned to her as she finally lay back on the bed, her thirst quenched. Tired green eyes wandered to the other person in the room, now slumped in a small wooden chair and watching her with seeming disinterest. In the dim lighting of the room he seemed to radiate a calmness Sakura felt she would never be able to grasp. How could he be so subdued at a time like this? Their eyes locked and it was all Sakura could do not to look away.

"Sasori," she whispered, her voice barely audible even to her own ears.

He looked so relaxed leaning back in the chair like that. Unkempt red hair fell into his eyes a bit, as if he couldn't be bothered to keep it neat and brushed. His entire posture oozed calm and collection, like he was perfectly at home right here; like she wasn't a threat or an enemy. It made her angry to be reduced to a trivial existence too helpless even to merit his wariness. She wanted to scream at him.

"Are you angry?"

Sakura blinked. She wasn't so much startled by the fact that he'd picked up on her mood as the way he sounded amused by the prospect.

"Why are you here?" she said, not wanting to lose her temper around him. She still remembered what he did the last time she lost control of her anger.

"I live here."

_Talk about moving from the frying pan to the fire..._

The ensuing silence made it hard for Sakura to breath properly. She was doing her best to ignore the ache in her body, but it was draining her limited energy fast. He suddenly took that time to lean forward a bit, steepling his hands and resting his chin on his thumbs. The effect served to make Sakura feel exposed under his gaze, as if he were examining a lab specimen.

"You...helped me escape," she said.

"I provided an opening."

"The cell guard. How...?"

"My spy. Though not by choice."

Sakura swallowed. "If he was your spy, why make him kill himself?"

His honey eyes remained empty and unreadable even as a smirk twisted his lips. "I wanted to see how far you could get on your own."

Sakura clenched her jaw so hard it hurt. The way he said it made it sound like this was some kind of _game _and not her _life._ "Why?" she demanded.

"Perhaps I didn't want you coming back to haunt me if I let Orochimaru kill you. Eternity is a long time."

Sakura could have laughed. The day she'd said those words to Sasori so many months ago when she was pretty sure she wouldn't live to see tomorrow, she'd only wanted to say something that would throw him off. If only she'd known then how things would turn out, she may have laughed at him for real.

"How many doses did they give you?"

She frowned, snapped out of her thoughts. Belatedly, she noticed that she was beginning to see double as exhaustion and pain sapped her energy with each passing minute. "Doses?"

He narrowed his eyes at her as if irked, although she could not guess why. "The agent you were given seals your chakra. It's the cause of your current useless state."

_Oh, right. _

How could she forget something as important as that? "I don't remember. Maybe...five or six."

Sasori let out a sharp breath, although it sounded more amused than shocked. "So he had no intention of administering treatment in the end," he said more to himself than to her, a faraway look in his eyes.

Sakura immediately became a bit more alert at his words. "T-Treatment?"

"You'll die without a cure."

Judging by his flat tone of voice, Sakura assumed he wouldn't even lose sleep over it.

_No..._

"The Hokage can help me," she entreated. "Return me to Konoha. I... I won't tell anyone about you. I swear."

"You would be dead before reaching Konoha from here."

Familiar thoughts of hopelessness raced through Sakura's hazy mind as she tried to make sense of his words. Even if she'd been pulled from the jaws of death, it seemed that she wouldn't escape them in the end. Nothing had really changed since Orochimaru's, now that she thought about it. She'd merely been transferred from one enemy's stronghold to another's, and now she would waste away in a sick bed like a frail little girl. She was the Hokage's apprentice and a warrior; she wanted to die in battle serving her country. But now, the captive of a criminal and without even the comfort of her chakra to defend herself, it seemed that this might well and truly be the end of the line. And what a pathetic way to go. Anger and frustration and self-loathing swirled inside her with tumultuous force, and it was all she could do not to lash out.

_Damn you, Kabuto._

"Not like this," she whispered, her voice strained. "Anything but this."

Sasori said nothing as he continued to observe her—the scientist and his lab rat. There was nothing in those hauntingly empty eyes. This was not someone who would ever help another person for any reason other than personal gain.

"I can't even heal myself. I'm totally defenseless," she said, unable to look into those eyes any longer. "Is that what you want to hear?"

The room was deathly silent for what seemed like minutes instead of seconds. Sasori stood up from his chair and closed the short distance to her sick bed. Sakura still could not bring herself to look at him. Would he kill her now? There seemed to be little else for him to do, and either way it appeared that she would be dying soon anyway with no treatment. Belatedly, Sakura wondered why she couldn't decide which option was more humiliating.

"I created the agent that was used against you. It was designed to be administered once and only once. Multiple doses would compound the effects until the recipient died of poisoning by her own chakra."

Sakura looked up as he explained the properties of the agent with that same emotional disconnect she was starting to loath.

"Now that I know roughly how much is in your system, I can reverse the effects."

_What?_

"You..." She couldn't even find the energy to formulate complete sentences anymore.

He reached over to the small end table that Sakura hadn't really noticed before and retrieved a small vial of clear liquid and a syringe. Memories of her time with Kabuto made her recoil from the sight on instinct, which only sent a lancing pain through her body. Sasori noticed her discomfort but gave no indication that he cared. Instead, he filled the syringe with some of the clear liquid, tapped it a few times to release any air bubbles, then turned back to her. After a split second of hesitation, he raised his free hand and pointed it at Sakura. Fine blue chara threads shot forth from his fingers and pinned her to the bed with more force than she would have thought possible for something so delicate. Sakura began to panic.

"W-Wait," she said. "Sasori—"

"This will hurt."

It was the only warning she had before he stuck her with the needle. Blinding pain erupted in her shoulder and slowly crept along her body like a slow moving river. Unable to withstand it, Sakura screamed and tried to thrash away from him. But Sasori's threads held her immobile; she was effectively trapped in her own body.

Honey eyes stared down at her, almost curious, as the pain overwhelmed her and she was swallowed up by the darkness once more.

* * *

The next time she awoke, Sakura immediately knew that she was alone. Sasori's personal gravity was no longer felt, replaced only by something that sounded like soft crackling. Slowly, she let her eyes open in slits to let herself adjust to the lighting. It appeared that she was still in the same room, although for how long she'd been there she could not begin to guess.

"Still...alive," she rasped, needing to hear it aloud to confirm the fact.

She could not decide whether to laugh or to cry. _How _had she not died yet? Could Sasori truly have cured her? She tried to relax and take stock of her body. The horrible pain from before had dulled to a tolerable ache comparable to sore muscles after a hard day of training. That was definitely a good sign. Confidence returning, Sakura pushed herself up on her elbows to get into a sitting position. Once upright, she was almost giddy at the lack of pain. She should be able to walk like this!

As if on cue, the memory of Kabuto's abuse of her knee just before she'd escaped returned to her. Lips pressed together in a grim line, she pushed the covers down until the offended leg was exposed to her. Green eyes widened in utter shock at the sight of an expertly wrapped brace. Adept medic's fingers poked at it, noting the hard rods that both held her knee in place but allowed for range of motion. The wrappings were tight and stable. A hand lifted to feel her injured shoulder, only to find similar wrappings in place there too. Whoever had patched her up knew what they were doing.

_Sasori?_

Sakura could not imagine the redhead going this far. Besides, whoever had done this clearly had some knowledge about proper medical procedures, and from what little she knew about Sasori he was not the caregiving type. But...who else could be responsible? Was there even anyone else around..._wherever _this place was?

That thought prompted Sakura to look around her 'room' properly now that she felt a little better. As she'd previously assumed, the entire room was made of grey stone bricks. Her bed was wide enough for for two small people at most, and the duvet matched the red tapestry on the wall she'd seen earlier. The rest of the walls were free of decoration. Aside from the bed, the only other furniture was a small end table, a barren wooden desk, and a chair that Sasori had probably been occupying earlier. A fire crackled in the hearth on the far side of the room behind a metal cage. Several logs sat in a neat pile beside it for future use. Other than the light from the fire, three of the four walls bore sconces giving off a dim glow. There were no windows.

_I wonder if the door is locked._

There was only one way to find out. Throwing the duvet off of her lower half completely, Sakura swung her legs off the edge of the bed carefully so as not to aggravate her knee injury. There was a large area rug on the floor dyed red and gold to match the tapestry, for which she was grateful. She was still dressed in her flimsy ninja garb and barefoot, and there was a distinct chill to the room despite the healthy fire. She wondered if she was underground or in a colder climate. Hopefully it was the former; a colder climate would mean that she was a considerable distance from Konoha.

Once on the ground, Sakura tried applying pressure to her injured leg. It hurt, indicating that the damage was still there, but somehow it wasn't nearly as bad as she remembered it being. Her mad dash to the perimeter wall of Orochimaru's base had surely exacerbated the damage. A frown found its way onto her face. Perhaps she'd healed it unconsciously in her sleep? Being as adept as she was with medical ninjutsu, Sakura had found that over time her body healed itself at an accelerated rate even while she was unconscious. If Sasori had successfully reversed the effects of the chakra sealing agent, then perhaps her body was already using her energy to fix itself. Delighted by the prospect, Sakura decided to test it and summoned healing chakra to her hand.

"Ah!"

She could not help but yelp in surprise as the familiar sting returned when she tried to access her chakra. Immediately, she ceased her actions and the pain abated. Did that mean that Sasori had not cured her? But then, why did she feel so much better compared to before? Sakura shook her head; the only way to get some concrete answers would be to talk to Sasori in person, something she was reluctant to do for obvious reasons. Stealing a glance at the door, she bit her lip. What would happen if she left this room? Would he come after her?

_Only one way to find out._

If he'd taken the time to treat her, then the chances that he would kill her the second she walked out of the room were slim. Sasori may be a criminal, but there was little doubt in Sakura's mind that he was ruthlessly efficient and very intelligent. It would be contradictory to help her only to kill her off right after. It wasn't much, but it gave her enough courage to hobble to the door and twist the knob open.

The large wooden door creaked a bit on its hinges, making Sakura wince. Had he heard that? Would he come after her, iron sand ready to gouge out her insides? Poking her head out the door into the stone hallway was a little anticlimactic when nothing happened. There wasn't even the faintest trace of human presence for as far as she could see down either passage. She let out the breath she'd been holding, feeling a mix of silly and terrified.

Directly across the hall from her room, if she could call it that, was another wooden door identical to her own. There were no other doors within sight of her current position, so Sakura decided to forego wandering aimlessly in favor of seeing what lay behind Door Number Two. She stepped out into the stone hallway and hissed as her bare feet made contact with the cold stone floor. Wasn't there any kind of heating system in this place? Resisting the urge to grumble about luxuries she should not even be allowed to pine for, Sakura limped across the hallway and pushed open the door, which was unlocked. Unlike her room's door, this one did not squeak when opened. Cautiously, she poked her head into the new unfamiliar room to check for people. It was empty, but the sight that greeted her was a welcome one.

_A bathroom._

She let herself in and closed the door behind her, noting with some annoyance that there was no lock. The bathroom was nothing to write home about. There was a pedestal sink and small vanity, another door that she guessed lead to the toilet, and what appeared to be a wooden tub heated by a stove already blazing with fire. Curious, Sakura approached the tub only to see that it was filled with water. One touch confirmed that the water was hot and ready for use. This was getting stranger by the minute.

To the side of the tub stood a plain wooden chair undeserving of special notice if not for the fact that there were folded clothes resting atop it. Sakura approached the chair and examined the clothing. There was a loose long-sleeved shirt and matching pants, both a dark green color and very plain. They were thicker than she'd expected, however, and she guessed that they were made of wool. A pair of woolen socks were folded into the shirt, for which she was grateful. Beneath the chair were a pair of leather moccasins also lined with wool.

_Did Sasori really do all of this?_

She just could not bring herself to believe it. The idea of Akasuna no Sasori folding clothing was utterly ridiculous, nevermind the fact that it was perfectly done. Something was definitely weird about all of this. The heat of the bath drew her attention once more, and Sakura looked longingly at it. There were even basic bathing products on the ledge for her use. Well, she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to clean up. Who knew how long she'd gone without a bath?

Resolved, she undressed, carefully unwrapped her bandages, and got into the tub, sighing as the hot water immediately relaxed her abused body. Knowing she could not just lie here forever, Sakura washed her hair and scrubbed her body as best she could. Once she was satisfied that she was as clean as she was like to get, Sakura decided to get out. The water was starting to cool as the fire had died down by now. She pulled the lone towel from a nearby rack and dried herself. Next, she re-wrapped her bandages with expert precision gained from years of training and dressed in the clean clothes. They were a little big on her, but fit well enough. Besides, they were significantly warmer than her own clothes.

Once dry and dressed, Sakura toweled her hair dry, running her fingers through it to work out a few tangles. She wasn't particularly vain, and keeping her hair short was both practical and easy when on missions without basic amenities like combs. A quick look in the mirror made her flinch. Her face was gaunt and devoid of color, and her eyes were ringed by faint shadows. She was clean, but she was far from well. Spending so much time in Orochimaru's base would do that to a person, she thought grimly.

Growling drew her attention to her empty stomach. When was the last time she'd eaten? Judging by the rather violent hunger tickle, it must have been a few days. No wonder she felt so weak. Not having chakra access was one thing, but no food was one of the quickest ways to incapacitate a conditioned shinobi. It probably didn't help that her diet while at Orochimaru's had consisted of little more than bread and dried meat, save for that one lavish dinner she'd shared with the snake Sannin. He'd asked her all sorts of questions about Sasori back then, she recalled. He claimed that Sasori had taken a gamble on her help back at the Tenchi Bridge, but Sakura could not really see why that was such a big deal. After all, she had certainly taken a much greater risk in trusting Sasori to back _her_ up. She was not the shady criminal, so she could be trusted.

Why was she here? Why had he saved her? He claimed it was to repay the debt he owed her, but could she truly believe that? He said he lived here, so she could only assume he'd taken precautionary measures against intruders or prisoners.

_Am I a prisoner?_

It baffled her that she could not come to a definitive conclusion on the matter. On the one hand, Sasori was absolutely the enemy against whom she'd fought a battle to the death with Chiyo. But on the other...

_He fought with me against Kabuto and Orochimaru, and now he's saved me from certain death. _

It just didn't add up. She supposed it was possible that he truly believed he owed her a debt and had taken this opportunity to repay it. But why not return her to Konoha for the Hokage to treat? Why bring her here, wherever this was?

"_He made quite the gamble on you."_

Sakura shook her head to get Orochimaru's voice out of her mind. Clearly, only Sasori knew what went on in Sasori's mind, and right now she was too spent to worry about the train of thought of a murderer. Now that she thought about it, her head hurt quite a bit. The bath had been relaxing, but somehow she felt even more wasted and frail than before. Maybe sleep would be a better option that food?

Sakura replaced her towel on its rack and exited the bathroom, once more taking a moment to look down both passages before fully emerging. When she took a step forward though, she faltered and crashed to the floor. Pain erupted in her bad leg even though she'd tried to land on the other side to avoid further injury. Now her hip throbbed uncomfortably and she was sprawled on the cold stone floor. Sucking in a frustrated breath at her pathetic state, Sakura resisted the urge to cry.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Sakura's eyes shot open at the sound of a feminine voice, turning to the source. A woman, maybe only a few years older than herself, was kneeling down beside her and reaching out a hand for support. Sakura gratefully accepted the help and together they got her standing once more.

"I didn't know there were other people here," Sakura blurted out.

The woman, a plain looking girl with brown hair and watery blue eyes, smiled warmly. She wore a simple brown dress that reached the floor and a white apron. Everything about her pointed to 'civilian', and Sakura found herself wondering if she was some kind of maid.

"You must be hungry," the woman said, helping Sakura walk back to her room. "I had som food prepared for you while you were bathing. Will you have some?"

Sakura wordlessly allowed the woman to guide her back into her room and to the bed, where she sat with her legs stretched out. The maid fluffed her pillows so that Sakura could sit up enough to eat. Sure enough, there was a modest tray on the end table bearing steaming soup, a glass of water, and an apple.

"I know it's not much, but Sasori-sama said that you would not be able to consume anything complex for now," the maid said as she placed the tray on Sakura's lap.

Sakura stared at the maid, who was smiling politely. "Sasori?"

The maid blinked, as if not expecting this line of questioning. "Oh, yes, Sasori-sama. He instructed me to provide you with food, a bath, and fresh clothing when you awoke. I hope everything was so your satisfaction?"

Sakura was utterly bewildered. "Um, yes, of course. Thank you."

_Sasori-sama?_

The maid nodded. "I'm happy to hear it. Please, eat. I was instructed to wait until you consumed everything before I took the tray back."

Sakura returned her focus to the tray of food, her earlier hunger returning in spades. Without a second thought, she heartily dug in. The soup was simple but delicious and hot, and she gulped it down in a few swallows. Next was the water, which she only sipped at to save for later. Then she attacked the apple, a radiant red specimen that tasted as good as it looked. She stripped it to the core, sighing in relief as her hunger was finally staved.

"Okay, I'll just take this," the maid said, reaching for the tray.

She was making to leave, Sakura realized. Suddenly desperate for some company, Sakura stopped her. "Wait, please. Tell me your name?"

The maid stopped and turned, clearly not having expected that. "Oh, please forgive my rudeness. I am Kaori."

"Kaori-san," Sakura repeated. "It's nice to meet you."

Kaori smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "And you, Haruno-san."

_How does she know my name?_

"Just Sakura, please."

Kaori blinked once before saying, "Of course, Sakura-san. Anyway, I must be going. Please excuse me."

"Wait, please," Sakura said. This might be her only chance to get some unbiased information.

Kaori turned to her once more, waiting for elaboration.

"You addressed Sasori very formally earlier. Do you, um," Sakura trailed off, not sure how to phrase the question.

Kaori nodded after a moment's hesitation. "He is the master of this house."

"And where is this house?"

Kaori averted her gaze, as though ashamed. "I cannot talk about that."

Sakura frowned, but supposed that made some sense. Sasori probably did not want to risk his location getting out to enemies, assuming she would be getting out of here with her life intact... Still, something about the way she'd phrased it bothered the pink-haired kunoichi. "Okay, then how do you know Sasori? Have you been working for him for very long?"

Once again, Kaori looked reluctant to answer. "Not long..."

It was not lost on Sakura that she hadn't answered the part about how she'd come to be acquainted with Sasori. Something was definitely amiss. "Sasori won't know that you're talking to me. He isn't even in the immediate vicinity."

"...I'm sorry. I cannot speak freely; he will know if I try to."

_What does _that _mean?_

Kaori turned to leave again without waiting for Sakura's response.

"Wait, please! What do you mean he'll know?"

"I'm under obligation to him," Kaori said as she reached for the door. "I'm afraid I cannot say more."

With that she left, leaving Sakura alone. The pink-haired medic sighed and lay down, getting comfortable while taking care not to disturb her injuries. Whatever the deal was with Kaori, she was obviously not going to get to the bottom of it right now. But the way she insisted on not being able to speak freely was eerily familiar, though the truth eluded her. The entire exchange was fishy. Kaori did not seem like the type to obey a person like Sasori out of the goodness of her heart, and Sasori did not seem like the type to employ civilians for any purpose whatsoever. Still, it was somewhat comforting to know that she was not alone in this place with just Sasori. Small mercies, she supposed.

Sleep claimed her soon after, and Sakura was once again lost to the world and her mounting apprehension.

* * *

The third time Sakura awoke she felt noticeably better. Pushing up to a sitting position, she yawned and stretched her arms as much as her bad shoulder would allow. It was better than before, she thought, baffled. It was almost as if she'd been healed with chakra. Curious, she tried to summon her chakra again. Her hand began to tingle with the beginnings of chakra release, but just as she'd gathered enough to produce a normal medical jutsu she was met with the familiar crippling pain from before. No matter how much better she felt now, there were clearly still significant impediments to her recovery. Had she not been sitting on a soft bed, Sakura was sure she would have keeled over from the shock of pain and ensuing lightheadedness. It passed after several minutes of lying prostrate. Despite the consequences she'd been able to summon a little bit of chakra this time, which made her smile. While slow, her recovery was most certainly real.

Hunger tickled her stomach suddenly and Sakura wondered just how long she'd been out this time. The fire in her hearth was a shadow of its former self at this point, making her think that no one had been in here for some time. Considering her options, Sakura decided it would be in her best interests to locate food before working on the fire. She still felt lethargic and achy, but right now hunger was her more pressing issue. Resolved, she slipped out of bed and into her new shoes, making for the door.

Once again, the hallway was completely empty save for the wall sconces illuminating the area. Now, which way could lead to the kitchen?

_Keep right._

The old command returned to her, unbidden. Obviously it didn't necessarily apply here; she had a fifty-fifty chance of stumbling in the right direction. But still... Something urged her to take the right anyway. With nothing else to go on, Sakura trudged down the right passage, keeping one hand on the wall for support. After a while she began to pass by closed doors, but still there was no trace of human presence. Belatedly, she thought the path was curving but otherwise thought little of it, counting the doors she passed so as to remember which one was hers. Thoughts of her mad dash through Orochimaru's hideout returned to her, and every time she passed by a closed door she expected it to open up and release enemy ninja ready to attack her. No one appeared, and Sakura kept moving.

After a couple of minutes hobbling down the stone passageway and wondering just how big this place was, Sakura came upon an opening in the stone wall leading to a wide room. She peeked her head around the corner and spotted cabinets, a stove top, and a refrigerator. Delighted that she'd likely found the kitchen, Sakura entered the room and made a beeline for the counter. There was a bowl of fruit and a wrapped loaf of bread laid out, so she decided to help herself to some. Selecting a cluster of grapes from the fruit bowl, she heartily dug into her meal.

About ten minutes passed without a hitch as Sakura filled her empty stomach with food, careful to dispose of the stems of the grapes once she finished. So absorbed was she in eating that she didn't notice the footsteps until they were right upon her. The weight of another person occupying the atmosphere of the room suddenly hit her full force, and she had to steady her balance on the counter top. Dreading the sight of the person who had likely invaded her solitary world, Sakura forced herself to turn regardless.

Sasori ignored her as he reached for the bowl of fruit and selected a shiny red apple after a moment's consideration. Sakura watched, arrested in silent fascination, as he bit into the fruit and licked the excess juice from his lips. He continued to act as if she was not standing just a couple steps away. Sakura swallowed, wondering what on earth she was supposed to say to him. What does one say to a villain who sort of _maybe _had no ill intentions toward her for the moment?

"You...reversed the effects of the agent," she said, intending it to sound more like a statement than a question.

Sasori slowly fixed his honey eyes on her, as if only now noticing that she was actually there. "Obviously."

_Well, I guess that answers that question._

"And I have some of my chakra back," she said, feeling a bit more confident. "I'm already starting to heal."

He took another bite of his apple, and Sakura took the opportunity to really look at him. He was a few inches taller than her but not as tall as Kakashi. His red hair again struck her as unruly but not in an unkempt way, as if it always looked presentable no matter what he did or did not do with it. His posture was relaxed, as if he was simply enjoying an afternoon snack instead of standing next to a sworn enemy. He made no move to attack her or restrain her; in fact, his body language didn't really acknowledge her much at all. If she was being perfectly honest with herself, Sakura had to admit that he was easy on the eyes when his face wasn't cracked and splattered with blood. He had a rugged look about him, somewhere between the teenage heartthrob and the seasoned older man. And his eyes were the most inviting shade of amber she'd ever seen, if only she could ignore the bitter emptiness in them.

"You won't have access to chakra for several days, and even then it will only return to you little by little. I healed the worst of your injuries," he said smoothly.

Sakura blinked. "You...healed me? With chakra?"

"You're not the only shinobi with knowledge of medical ninjutsu in this world."

"I..." she trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say to that.

What did this mean? He wasn't acting hostile or overtly rude, so was that the okay to ask him some more pertinent questions? Or was this his modus operandi—disarm with the casual act before swooping in for the killing blow? Unlikely, she decided. Sasori seemed like the type to be upfront about his decisions and see them through to the end. There was really only one thing Sakura wanted to say to him above all else and despite her fears and perhaps her better judgement.

"Thank you."

He stopped chewing his bite of fruit and turned to meet her eyes, only then swallowing. For a suspended moment in time, Sakura felt more vulnerable under his full attention than she'd ever felt before. It reminded her of their time in the that cave in River Country, minus the whole fight to the death bit.

"Do not think that I intervened out of some sense of moral responsibility. I repaid a debt I owed, nothing more, nothing less."

He didn't want her gratitude, but he didn't have to deconstruct her predicament into something cut and dry like that. What was wrong with saying 'thank you'? Sakura frowned, remembering what he'd said to her when he showed up at Orochimaru's base. "So...we're even," she said tentatively. "You don't owe me anything anymore, so you can let me go."

Sasori set the half eaten apple down on the counter and lowered his chin, as if to see her better. "You're half right."

_What?_

Cold dread crept up her spine as Sakura decided she was not going to like wherever this was going. "What do you mean?"

"I took a great risk to get you out of that base. The chances of engaging Orochimaru directly were high, and with all of his underlings behind him I may not have escaped, much less with you. On top of that, I'm treating your chakra poisoning."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Simply put, the payment was too costly. You owe me for this."

Sakura took a moment to process his words. Somehow, it felt like all rational thought had abandoned her. She leaned her weight on the arm resting on the marble counter. "I didn't ask for this."

"No, you forfeited that right. I chose for you, as I told you I would."

Sakura honestly did not know what to say to that. What did it even mean? And why did she feel deceived, like he'd played her for a fool without her even knowing what was happening? "I helped you defeat Orochimaru and you saved my life. That's a fair trade. There's nothing left between us after this."

Truly, Sakura was proud of the way her voice didn't quake as she said it. Sasori, however, seemed less impressed. He turned to her fully and took a step toward her until only inches separated them, but Sakura refused to recoil; she would not give him the satisfaction. He brought his face closer to hers but maintained his height over her, making her feel much smaller than she was.

"I think we both know that's not true, Sakura," he said softly, although there was nothing soft about his tone.

She could feel his warm breath on her skin and was reminded of the last time he was this close to her.

"_I don't care about your hatred."_

Somehow, that kind of controlled callousness was far more terrifying than the thought him raging at her.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice quiet and trying desperately not to show her steadily building trepidation. She refused to back away and let him intimidate her.

Sasori blinked, his honey eyes surveying her face. He took in the pale pallor of her skin and the dark rings beneath her vibrantly colored eyes. Before she could even think to react, he raised a hand and let a thumb trace the shadowy bruise beneath her left eye. His touch was so feather light that she had trouble registering the act at first. When she finally pulled herself together, he'd already let his hand fall.

"I want your services," he said.

Sakura stared at him, trying to comprehend the meaning of his words. "My...services?"

Sasori leaned back, the ghost of a smirk playing at his lips. "Your medical skills," he clarified. "I'm human now, and this body is susceptible to injury and death."

Sakura frowned, her earlier discomfort forgotten as she thought about the implications of that. "You want me to heal you? Why? Are you planning on getting injured?"

He fixed her with a guarded look. "The whys are not your concern."

Why did this remind her so much of Orochimaru all of a sudden? Would she be expected to perform another medical impossibility? "Healing you for any reason would constitute treason. You're asking me to betray my village for you."

"I'm not asking," he returned.

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but closed it soon after. He had some _nerve _talking to her like this, like she was just some...some _tool _he could break out whenever it damn well suited him. She wasn't a _machine; _she was a _person._ She shook her head. "That is too much."

"How much do you value your life, Sakura?"

The sudden change in subject threw her for a loop. "What?"

"Your life," he said again, his tone laced with the barest hint of irritation. "What is it worth to you?"

Sakura just stared at him, unsure how to respond to that. Of course she valued her life; who didn't? But to quantify it was a little more complicated. What was the value of a human life? Of her own life? "I'm not sure how to answer that."

"It's a simple question. For some, the answer is that their life is only as good as the village they serve. For others, it's worth trading for the life of a loved one. Some people equate their lives to sums of money." He fixed her with a knowing look. "Regardless, everyone has a price."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. What could she possibly say to that? How could she come up with some way to qualify her existence on this earth on the spot like that? She'd never even thought about it before now. As soon as that thought passed through her mind, she felt strange thinking it. Why would she have never thought about the value of her own life before this moment? She'd certainly been in danger of losing it many times in the past few months, but what did that even mean to her?

"I..." she said, still unsure of how to respond.

"Is it worth surviving Orochimaru? If not, I will happily return you to his custody."

Sakura blinked, not having expected that. "No. I mean, yes, it's worth surviving that. It's... It's all I have left."

_This life is all I have left to fight for the people I love._

"Then by your own logic, it's worth lending your talent to the man who saved it."

Sakura clenched her fists, torn between being angry with him and resigned to the truth in his words. If she told him to find someone else, she may not live to see the next day. And if she helped him, she would be a traitor to Konoha.

_If Konoha ever found out..._

Yes, _if. _But if they never found out, what would be the harm? No one even knew that Sasori was alive but her. He'd made no move to seek her out or move against Konoha in the last few months since the fight against Orochimaru and Kabuto, so it was unlikely that he had any kind of evil agenda revolving around her hometown. He'd never shown any such inclinations in the past as far as she knew too, although that was a moot point. Still, none of this really meant that he wouldn't be an enemy in the future. What if he moved against Konoha down the road?

"You want me to heal you if you get injured," she said carefully. "Are you planning on getting involved in a difficult fight soon?"

Sasori released an amused breath. "Clever, but that's none of your business."

"It is if you plan to attack Konoha," she countered.

He was silent for a moment, as if thinking about how best to answer that. "I currently have no intention of involving Konoha in my plans."

_But he might in the future._

She narrowed her eyes at him. Did he think she was stupid enough to fall for that? "I need a guarantee. Swear to me right here and now that you will not involve Konoha in whatever you're doing."

Sasori's eyes darkened a little as he peered down at her, and suddenly Sakura felt as vulnerable as she did when he'd had her by the throat with his chakra strings.

"You want me to promise not to involve the Hidden Leaf Village in whatever my future plans may be," he clarified.

Sakura bit her lip. "And Suna. We're allies, so involving one would mean dragging the other in."

Sasori's expression remained carefully blank at the mention of his old village. She vaguely remembered Chiyo talking about how the teachings of Suna's Ninja Academy had molded Sasori into the shinobi he was today, and she wondered what kind of feelings he held for his old home, if any.

"Why do you care?"

That was not a question she'd been expecting, but Sakura was ready with an answer regardless. "Because I have to protect the people of my village. That's my responsibility as a ninja."

He smirked, and it served to make him look almost sinister with the difference in their height. "I don't make promises."

Sakura clenched a fist and inadvertently tried to summon her chakra, wishing she had the strength to punch him in the face. How on earth could he expect her to do these things for him without even his word that he would not turn around and terrorize her home? This would make her indirectly responsible for whatever he did after she healed him, in a sense. Still, he had saved her life and was bringing her back from an otherwise painful and humiliating death. Without him, she may never have escaped Kabuto and Orochimaru.

_But now he's making demands of me, like this was all part of some elaborate plan._

Before Sakura could dwell on the possible implications of that thought, she was hit with a wave of nausea that made her knees buckle precariously. The world spun and Sakura felt herself losing her balance. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp as the floor suddenly looked a lot closer than it had a moment ago. But she never crashed to the earth as something firm and strong held her up at an uncomfortable angle.

"Oh..." she murmured, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried in vain to fight off of the queasy feeling combined with a fresh rush of aching pain. Maybe she'd overdone it walking around so soon after waking up? Her knuckles stung badly, and she made the connection that accidentally drawing chakra had likely brought on this spasm.

_Good going, Sakura._

All of a sudden, something shifted her weight and Sakura found herself lifted off the ground entirely. She need not have opened her eyes to know that Sasori had picked her up with seemingly little effort. Unthinking, Sakura tensed her body in an attempt to become as light as possible, as if this would let her disappear completely. Right now, that sounded like an attractive prospect as Sasori's arms pinned her to his chest and she tried to calm the overwhelming nausea impairing her senses.

_Do not throw up on him. Do not throw up on him, _she chanted in her head. The last thing she needed was an excuse for him to become angry with her while he was physically supporting her like this. The world around her began to move as Sasori walked them out of the kitchen at a sedate pace. Sakura wished she could just pass out instead of suffer this additional ignominy.

"You'll experience nausea and mild to severe body ache as you recover," Sasori said. "The effect will become compounded if you attempt to access your chakra."

She almost felt his words more than heard them as they reverberated in his chest. "Wish I'd known that before..." she mumbled into his shoulder.

Sasori said nothing to that as he continued to walk them down the stone hallway. Her head lulled against his shoulder as she fought not to spill her lunch everywhere. Thankfully, he was walking slowly enough not to make her feel even more ill. Belatedly, Sakura thought she could feel his heart beating against her arm, a subtle reminder that he was in fact alive. After a short while he paused to open a door. She let her eyes open barely and made out a shock of burgundy and gold despite her swimming vision. This must be her room. As if to confirm as much, Sasori carefully lowered her to the bed and pulled the duvet over her lower half. Sakura watched him through blurry vision as he worked quickly, but every move he made appeared gentle and deliberate. She frowned, disturbed by the thought of Akasuna no Sasori being gentle in any context.

"We'll discuss the specific terms of your debt when you're feeling better," he said as he leaned over her, the nearby fire lending a light to his eyes that wasn't normally there.

Sakura wanted to be angry. She wanted to fight him off to the bitter end until he finally realized that he would not be able to make this decision for her. But all traces of her smoldering antipathy suddenly morphed into shock and a little bit of fear as something warm and soft slipped among her hair. She dared not move as Sasori gently pushed her bangs out of her face with a degree of tenderness she never would have expected. Speechless, Sakura could only stare up at him through double vision.

"Sleep," he commanded in a tone that was significantly colder than his touch.

Before she could summon the words to respond, his hand fell and he turned away from her. She was overcome suddenly with the urge to call out to him, but the command lingered on the tip of her tongue just long enough for him to slip out the door. Alone, she sank deeper into the down bedding as her head continued to swirl and her body throbbed. She could not believe that she'd almost asked him to wait. Wait for what? She felt like something warranting a little more coherent concern was unfolding before her, but the nausea was making it exceedingly difficult for her to make heads or tails of her situation.

_I wish he hadn't done that._

Her last thoughts as she once again succumbed to the realm of dreams was that no one had ever touched her hair the way Sasori just had. Somewhere deep down, mixed in with the shock and anxiety necessarily elicited by the bold action, the memory left her feeling inexplicably lacking.


	9. Winter King

Zero Hour - Chapter 9: Winter King  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"While I sit so high upon a throne, I wonder how I can feel this low.  
On top of the world it's beautiful, but there's no place to fall.  
There's no one here at all behind these castle walls." - Skylar Grey

* * *

Having no windows in her modest room, Sakura had no way to tell night from day or even how much time had passed. Who knew how long she'd slept since Sasori left her alone and she passed out? Luckily, Kaori was stoking the fire in her hearth when she awoke again. Sakura explained that she wanted to know the time, and Kaori smiled.

"It's morning, a little after nine."

It appeared that she'd slept through the night. She did feel rested and ready to move about, and the prospect of getting out of her sick room was incredibly appealing. The consequences of her last attempt to draw chakra had dulled to the point that they were barely noticeable, but Sakura knew they would manifest again should she try anything strenuous. Best to take things easy for now and not permanently injure herself. The chances were remote, but there had been cases in which shinobi lost access to their chakra permanently.

"Will you have breakfast?"

Sakura returned her gaze to Kaori, who looked like she could use a long night of rest herself. "What do you do around here?"

"Just about everything that needs doing, I suppose."

"Cleaning?"

"Yes, mostly."

"What about cooking?"

"Oh no, we have a small staff of able cooks," she said a little sheepishly.

_What kind of house has its own personal chef squad?_

Eager to find out more about her current lodgings, Sakura hopped off the bed to get the day started.

"Shall I bring your breakfast?" Kaori asked again.

"Sure, thanks, but after I'd like to look around a bit."

"Oh..." Kaori averted her gaze. "I'm not sure..."

"I don't mean any harm," Sakura backpedaled. "It's just too stagnant in this room. I feel like the sick aura has settled in."

"Of course, being cooped up in here for nearly a week must not be easy for you. Forgive my presumptions."

_Wait, what?_

"I've been in here for a week?" There was no way that much time had passed since the escape from Orochimaru's base.

"Well, six days to be exact. You were so sick that I was worried you might not make it. But, well..."

"What?"

"...Sasori-sama stayed with you nearly the entire time. He was treating you, and it was my job to make sure he had everything he needed to heal you properly."

She'd known that Sasori was responsible for her treatment, but to think that he'd been working on her nonstop for almost a week was news. Coming so close to death should not have surprised her after everything that had happened, but clearly she'd underestimated the direness of her situation. From what Kaori was describing, it sounded like Sasori had truly brought her back from the brink. Hearing it from a third party made the ordeal seem more raw and personal even after the fact.

"Sakura-san, are you alright?"

Sakura blinked, focusing once more on the maid before her. "Oh, yeah I'm fine." She paused before adding, "I'm just going to clean up, then I'd like to take that walk."

Kaori did not look pleased that she'd returned to that topic, but after a moment's inner turmoil she nodded her assent. "I'll return in a half hour to fetch you."

Roughly thirty minutes later Sakura found herself being led down a stone corridor that reminded her of a dungeon; there were neither windows nor wall hangings of any kind. The chilly, stagnant air made her shiver unpleasantly. At least she was finally walking a little more like a normal person instead of limping pathetically. That progress alone was enough to convince her that Sasori had been truthful about having healed her leg and shoulder injuries. Kaori walked ahead of her, making almost no noise at all, a notable feat for a civilian.

"Why are there no windows in this place?" Sakura ventured. Surely the woman could tell her that much.

"This is the basement floor."

_Meaning there are higher floors with a view of the surroundings._

Sakura decided then and there that she would take this opportunity to explore; it may help her figure out how to get the hell out someday. "I see. Does Sasori spend his time down here?"

There was a short pause while Kaori debated whether or not this was an acceptable question to answer. "Sometimes."

_And we're back to square one._

Not for the first time, Sakura wondered why exactly she was working for Sasori, and if the labor was indentured in some capacity. She clearly knew her way around here, so if she wanted to couldn't she flee? Then again, a civilian would stand no chance against a former Akatsuki no matter how architecturally savvy.

They soon came upon a staircase, at which point Kaori stopped and turned to face her charge. "May I assist you? It's a bit a of a trek to the top."

Sakura observed the rough-hewn stone staircase as it snaked around a corner above her head. A familiar fire sparked to life within her, drawing a small smile as she was filled a feeling of nostalgia. She was never one to give up without even trying. "I can manage."

Kaori looked like she wanted to protest, but Sakura trudged forward and began ascending at a slow but steady pace. Her knee ached a bit with each bend and shift of her weight, but it was tolerable. It even felt invigorating to work her legs a bit. After what may have been the equivalent of roughly a flight, Sakura stopped for a break. Her leg was now aching more acutely, and she rested a hand on the wall. Up ahead, she could make out the faintest rays of light peeking around the corner of the next twist. They were almost there.

"Sakura-san, please let me assist you. I'm responsible for your well-being," Kaori insisted again, drawing up beside her.

Sakura inclined her head at her companion, suddenly understanding. If Kaori felt responsible for her, it was likely because Sasori had told her as much. So if something happened and Sakura injured herself further, Kaori may be on the receiving end of whatever punishment Sasori might have in store. Sakura did not want to be the cause of any kind of retaliation against this civilian woman who'd been nothing but courteous to her. "Okay, thanks. It would help if I could lean on you."

Kaori was quick to comply, and the two scaled the remaining stairs. The sight that greeted Sakura at the top of the stairs made her raise a hand to shield her eyes. Bright sunlight streamed through high vaulted windows lining the wide hallway. Once her eyes adjusted somewhat, she could not help but let her mouth hang open in shock.

The hallway was wide enough to accommodate a small garrison of shinobi standing shoulder to shoulder, at least. The floor and walls were made of the same dark grey brick, but they were swathed in red carpeting. Torches bedecked the walls, extinguished for now while the sun lit up the area. Turning to look over her shoulder, she noticed that the hall continued in the opposite direction before ending in two colossal lacquered doors.

"What _is _this place?" she whispered aloud.

Kaori closed the door to the winding staircase. It was then that Sakura noticed a thick tapestry had been pulled back to expose the door, which Kaori now returned to its proper place. The door was gone and all that was left was the most lavish hallway Sakura had ever laid eyes on.

"Sasori lives here?" she said, this time addressing Kaori.

"We all do," came her rather unhelpful reply.

Annoyance at the lack of information was ignored in favor of trying to see every inch of the space as Kaori led Sakura toward the set of giant doors. Sakura's eyes finally looked out one of the windows, but for some reason all she could see was the blue sky. Maybe this floor was higher up than she'd originally thought?

Kaori led her through a wide room with a metal gate and barred wooden doors. It was colder in here than in the hallway, and Sakura wondered if those doors led outside. Strange, she thought, since the wooden doors were chained and bolted shut, as though they hadn't been in use for some time. She shivered involuntarily, now more convinced that the climate here must be colder than that of her native Fire Country. She didn't have much time to dwell on it as Kaori continued to lead her through another door. The next thing Sakura knew they were in the middle of a large kitchen.

"Oh..." Sakura could find no other words as she took in the place. It had to be at least three or four times the size of her parents' kitchen back home. A wide hearth blazed with fire, heating an iron pot on a metal spit, which Sakura guessed was the source of whatever delicious aroma she was smelling. Islands and counters stretched nearly the length of the entire room, but everything looked to be in order and clean. Only one section of the counter was currently in use, where several people stood hunched over their work.

"Just a minute," Kaori said, leaving Sakura to stand by herself as she approached the busy cooks.

After a few minutes of covert whispering and some wary looks from the cooks, Kaori returned to Sakura with a bowl of whatever was currently stewing.

"This should taste a little better than the soup you've been eating, now that you're well enough to be up and about. Please follow me to the dining room."

"Oh no, I'll really only be a minute. There's no need to make a big deal out of this. I can just eat here," Sakura said, taking the bowl from Kaori before she could protest.

"Oh, alright." She sounded a bit at a loss for what to do, but the cooks didn't seem interested in intervening or shooing them out. Kaori made no more arguments as Sakura ate her breakfast.

"Are they all here just to make food?" Sakura asked between bites of what had turned out to be delicious stew.

"Yes and no. Those three do all the cooking," Kaori said, gesturing to the three men in the room, "but they also run errands and the like."

"Errands? Like, outside this place?"

Kaori immediately clammed up, her eyes downcast as she wrung her hands a bit. "I'm sorry, Sakura-san, but I—"

"—can't talk about it. Right, I'm starting to sense a pattern here."

_But that means there must be some kind of human civilization around here somewhere if civilians are running errands._

It wasn't much, but Sakura decided not to press the poor girl for more now that she had this knowledge. While she wasn't looking forward to seeing Sasori again, wherever he may be, she had a growing pile of questions she wanted to lay on him.

"Sakura-san, I have to take care of some chores right now," Kaori said, looking troubled. "I'll have to take you back to your room now."

_She doesn't want to leave me unsupervised._

Well, now Sakura was definitely not going back quietly. She would have to throw the maid off long enough to slip away and look around this place some more. "No problem. I'm finished anyway."

The two women left the kitchen through the same door as before. The three men didn't even acknowledge them when Sakura politely said goodbye. Soon they were back at the door behind the tapestry in the grand hallway.

"Kaori-san, I'm feeling much better now. I can find my way back to my room from here."

"Um, I'm not sure—"

"You said you had errands to run, right? I'm actually a doctor myself, so you can trust me when I tell you that I'll be able to make it back to my room in one piece."

"But earlier you seemed tired coming up the stairs..."

Sakura waved her off. "Going down is much easier than coming up."

"I suppose that's true."

"Besides, you're probably in a hurry to get your chores finished. You know how Sasori doesn't like to be kept waiting, so I don't want to keep you any longer than I need to."

Kaori's eyes widened. "Oh! Y-Yes, that's true. I'm already getting a bit of a late start as it is."

_Bingo._

"You go on ahead. I can manage from here; it's not far."

Kaori nodded. "Alright. I apologize for this. We're a small staff here, so we're very busy. Please excuse me." She bowed and scampered back in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Sakura alone in the great hall.

_Could the only other people here really be that small group?_

Sakura let her eyes sweep the view of the long hallway once more. This room alone seemed like too much work for only one or two people to maintain unaided. It was time to get some answers, even if she had to traverse this entire place. Resolved, Sakura closed the side door leading down to the basement and replaced the tapestry. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to walk down the path that turned to the right instead of back toward the lacquered double doors. Since her trek up the winding staircase earlier this morning, her leg had had a chance to take a break and now she felt well enough to walk somewhat normally again. The ache was still there, but as long as she moved slowly she should be fine.

Following the hall as it turned to the right, Sakura again came to a set of double doors, although these were not as grand as the original set. She looked over her shoulder once to confirm that no one was around, then pushed through the entryway. The sight that met her on the other side made her jaw drop.

"Seriously. What _is _this place?"

The room was high ceilinged and decorated in the style of a sitting room. It boasted the same red and gold patterned rug, old but quality by the looks of it. At the far end sat a massive grand piano, but it was covered in a sheet to protect it from dust. A hearth bigger than any Sakura had ever seen was carved directly into the wall to her right, although it was currently extinguished. It took up at least half of the total length of the wall. The mantle above it held small figurines and other treasures, all exquisite and perhaps brought home from faraway lands. A thin coat of dust dulled their vibrant hues.

Several paintings adorned the walls, but they were concealed by sheets perhaps to protect them from overexposure. A pair of what appeared to be canapés made of fine dark mahogany sat next each other with a small coffee table before them facing away from the brazier. There was another piece of furniture—a chaise longue perhaps, judging by the shape—but like the rest of the furniture in the room, it was completely covered in sheets. Next to it sat an end table with a marble top. Thick drapes hung from ceiling to floor concealing windows. When she followed them up Sakura noticed a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but it was dark with disuse. Aside from the slits between curtains, there was no light source.

Sakura shook her head. Never in her life had she witnessed such moribund opulence. There was little doubt in her mind that this had to be some kind of royal estate or villa, although by the looks of things it was many years out of use. She walked deeper into the room, taking care to close the door behind her. Passing by the wall-length fireplace, Sakura wondered if the chimney was as wide as this brazier. Before she knew it, she'd wandered all the way to the piano. Most shinobi didn't have time for instruments in her experience, but it was no secret that the Fire daimyo had a daughter with an exceptional talent for the piano, among other instruments. Nobles seemed to view musicality as an indication of intelligence or ability.

She lifted the sheet gingerly, as if afraid to disturb the piano's hibernation, and struck an ivory key. The pure sound of the note reverberated through the empty room, bouncing off the high ceiling in a way that made it sound more beautiful than she remembered pianos sounding. This room probably had good acoustics, she thought. Carefully replacing the sheet, Sakura turned to look out across the room once more. Maybe a fabulous party had been held here once before, or a concert. Maybe people had danced here until all hours of the night, surrounded by laughter and music and friends. Thinking about it made the place feel even lonelier now, like some lavish palace for the dead. She felt like a ghost floating among forgotten fragments of time, unable to see how they were once meant to look. She did not belong here.

"Where did all the people go?"

Silence was her answer as her skin prickled with gooseflesh even under the protection of her woolen clothing. The curtains drew her attention once more, and she wondered why they were drawn. That was when she noticed the door.

_How did I not see that before?_

It was good sized wooden door with black iron hinges. Unlike the main doors, this one was neither bolted nor chained. She reached out a hand to touch it, taking note of how cold it felt. Her heart leaped in her chest. "The exit," she breathed.

Without hesitating for another moment, Sakura gripped the knob and turned it, ignoring the icy burn of the iron on her naked palm. It was a heavy door, but with a small amount of effort she managed to pull it open. Frigid wind rushed her as the outside air struggled to fill the room behind her, but it passed almost immediately. Shielding her eyes against the light, Sakura stepped outside.

"Oh my god..."

She emerged onto a stone terrace, perhaps half the size of the sitting room. The skies above shimmered crisp and cerulean. Most breathtaking of all was the view. In all directions for as far as the eye could see, snowy peaks fought for dominance under the rays of the morning sun. Unconsciously, Sakura walked farther out toward the edge of the balcony to get a better look at the sublime mountain scenery. She looked over the edge and gasped. It was a straight drop thousands of feet to a forested valley below. Swallowing hard at the growing sense of vertigo, Sakura backed up a bit and turned around.

"How is it possible to be so high up..."

Sakura never finished her thought as she finally got a look at her temporary living quarters. She'd only ever seen them in fairytales and dusty history tomes, but Sakura immediately recognized the makings of a castle built into the face of the mountain in seeming defiance of the laws of gravity. Two stone towers topped the edifice, open at the top to allow for aerial surprise attacks in the days of old. Below them she could see a long, horizontal stretch of stone and glass that she immediately recognized as the great hall. There were other sections of the castle that she could not name, places she had yet to explore, but she could only imagine that they must be as grand as the sitting room. Just as she'd suspected, from here she could clearly see the long windows concealed by drapes in the sitting room. If they weren't drawn, the view from that room would be spectacular.

How was this place even accessible? From her limited vantage, the surrounding cliff face appeared too steep for roads or even mule paths. So how did she get here? Or better yet, how did those civilians get here? How was this place even built? And more puzzling still...

"If this is a castle, where is its king?"

A gust of winter wind made Sakura curl her toes in her shoes and rub her arms for warmth. It was _so cold _here, and she wasn't used to this type of climate. She'd only ever seen snow a couple of times in her life on missions to the northern countries, but never quite like _this_. There was little doubt in her mind that wherever _this _was, it was far away from her native Fire Country.

She turned to admire the mountain view once more, taking in the green of pine forests racing up the mountain sides until they gave way to stark white closer to the peaks. It was a magnificent sight, and one she'd dreamed of seeing one day.

"It's beautiful."

A chill that had little to do with the weather struck her to the bone at the sound of that liquid steel voice. Sasori drew up beside her and gazed out toward the distant stone giants. He wore a thick traveling cloak and a scarf, appearing perfectly at ease in the cold.

"Don't you think so?" he said, shifting his eyes to glance at her askance.

"...Yeah," she said, turning to look at the mountains again. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Nature in the conventional sense is an unimpressive, fragile thing. But a place like this has been around for thousands of years, practically unchanging and pristine. It's the closest thing to eternity in the natural world."

Sakura drank in his words, thinking about all the peoples and civilizations that had been here before them, lived here, fought here, died here perhaps. She supposed that those mountains had seen it all from their silent posts. "Timeless..."

Sasori shifted beside her. "Yes."

Sakura hugged herself a little tighter as the wind picked up again, fluttering her bangs a bit. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, but none of them returned to her now. All she could think of was the one she'd been asking herself all morning. "What is this place?"

"This castle's been around since the beginning of the warring states period. It was once the stronghold of a great warrior lord. There used to be a narrow road up the side of the mountain that lead to the main gate, but after years of weathering and corrosion it's become virtually unusable. The castle was abandoned for years as a result."

_Abandoned by all but the ghosts that haunt the halls._

"Why are you here then?"

"The location is remote and the structure is nearly impenetrable. Shinobi rarely venture into these parts."

"So you're hiding."

He smirked at that one. "We all have enemies, Sakura. You should know that better than most by now."

"I don't know why you'd bring an enemy here though," she countered, trying to keep her voice steady. "Even if it was to repay a debt."

Sasori regarded her for a moment, honey eyes warm and almost welcoming in their hue but hard and devoid of all but perhaps impersonal curiosity. Sakura clenched a fist and forced her body to shiver less visibly.

"Since you're clearly well enough to wander through the castle, we can discuss the terms of your own debt."

"You're dodging my question."

His smirk widened at her annoyance, but it only served to piss Sakura off even more. "I have some business to take care of right now. We'll discuss things later tonight. I'll summon you then."

To Sakura's outrage, he turned away from her and proceeded to withdraw the scroll storing his favorite puppet. As he released the Third Kazekage, Sakura regained her bearings despite having just been dismissed rather rudely.

"You have no right to order me around like that," she said, drawing up next to him as iron sand spilled to the ground and began to mold into a solid block.

Sasori stepped onto the block, which proceeded to float into the air along with his now winged puppet. He crouched on one knee and peered over the edge at Sakura. "I'm the king of this castle. I can do whatever I want."

Sakura's mouth dropped open as she heard the question she'd posited to herself earlier answered, as though he'd been eavesdropping on her the entire time. Before she could react, Sasori leaned back from her and his iron perch began to float away. In a matter of seconds, he and his puppet disappeared over the edge of the terrace, leaving Sakura alone once more. A few seconds passed in which Sakura simply stared, petrified in her bewilderment, at the place where Sasori had disappeared. Then a fresh gust of icy winter wind cut her to the core, snapping her out of her daze. She darted to the edge of the balcony and looked over the edge despite the nearly tangible vertigo. Below, she could just make out his form as he continued to descend, a mere dark spot against the blanket of white covering the valley below.

"Damn you," she whispered.

Even if she yelled at the top of her lungs, he probably wouldn't hear her from so far away through the whistling mountain winds. Sakura glared down at his rapidly disappearing silhouette until there was nothing left of it. A mess of anger and frustration and embarrassment, she retreated from the balcony and marched back inside, taking care to slam the door behind her.

The spooky parlor, swathed in shadows and broken memories of better times, offered a somber greeting and further fueled her displeasure. Without even bothering to stop and think, Sakura stomped toward the nearest canapé and tore the dusty sheet from it, revealing a deep wine-colored cushion that was probably as comfortable as it was exquisite. She pursed her lips and promptly moved to its twin, once more discarding the offending sheet and letting it flutter to the ground in a lifeless heap.

_Ghosts be gone, _she thought grimly.

In a matter of minutes, Sakura made quick work of the room and stashed the now folded sheets in a neat pile in the corner. Immediately afterwards, she set her sights on the thick drapes and forcefully pulled them apart. They were heavy, as though they'd forgotten how to let the light in. By the time she was finished, the room sparkled in the bright morning sunlight, revealing rich woodwork and subtle coloring in the paintings decorating the walls. All that was left was the fireplace, which Sakura concentrated on next. There was a pile of wood also covered in a sheet nearby, so she loaded up the wide hearth and prepared to get a blaze going. After a few tries with a box of old matches, she managed to get a small flicker started. In time, it would spread to the dry logs and fill the brazier with orange light.

It was amazing what a quick sprucing could do to a place. Where before lay a kingdom of the dead, now Sakura found herself in a lively, open room filled with beautiful decorations, tasteful furniture, and illuminated by plenty of natural lighting. Given another hour or so, the fire would even warm it to a hospitable temperature. The small victory over the wintry desert outside made her smile for the first time in weeks.

The effort had taken a lot out of her though, and now her knee ached with renewed vigor. Not having access to chakra was really starting to wear her down. Something as simple as a dusting up should not have exhausted her like this, and yet she found her eyelids drooping and her body throbbing slightly with depressingly familiar pain. That chaise longue was looking very enticing right about now...

"Just a quick nap," she mumbled even as she plopped onto the leather couch and rested her head upon the raised shoulder. She was out even before she finished the thought.

* * *

"Sakura-san, wake up."

Glazed green eyes opened reluctantly, squinting as a gentle nudging sensation pulled her from the realm of dreams. Sakura blinked the sleep away, trying to focus on the person who was interrupting her sleep.

"I didn't want to disturb you, but it's dinner time."

Sakura yawned and raised a hand to rub the sand from her eyes. She recognized the voice as Kaori's, the only other female she'd seen in weeks. Blinking, she registered that the light had left the room.

"Why is it so dark in here?"

Kaori offered her a small smile. "It's nearly eight in the evening. The sun sets earlier in this part of the world."

_Eight in the evening?_

Sakura blinked at the other woman, now feeling much more awake. "Did I sleep through the entire day?"

Kaori's smile widened somewhat, as though endeared. "Yes, you did. I didn't want to wake you, since you're still recovering."

Sakura smoothed her short hair and let her adjusting eyes take in the surroundings. The room was just as she'd left it, cured of its colorless drear. The curtains remained open, exposing miniscule stars peeking through the inky night sky. The hearth held a fire, but it only filled a small section of the space. Still, Sakura didn't feel cold. Looking down at the blanket that had mysteriously appeared while she slept, she understood why that was.

"I can't believe I was out all day," she mumbled, pushing the blanket off.

"Rest is important," Kaori said kindly, automatically moving to fold Sakura's discarded blanket. "Are you hungry?"

Sakura paused a moment to think about this. "I guess I am."

"Perfect. Sasori-sama is waiting for you in the dining hall. Please follow me."

At the mention of her redheaded host, Sakura's expression darkened. She remembered how he'd basically told her he'd summon her when he returned, igniting a familiar irritation that chipped at her pride. Kaori must have sensed her discomfort.

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?"

Sakura met Kaori's light blue eyes and studied the older girl for a moment. Not for the first time, she wondered what was keeping her here. Well, perhaps she could use this opportunity to find out. "No, everything's fine. Let's go."

Kaori let her gaze linger for a moment but nodded, leading Sakura out of the sitting room and back into the great hall. "I was actually a bit surprised to find you in there," she said as the pair made their way toward the dining hall. "We don't use most of the rooms above the basement."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow. "I can't imagine why not. This place is breathtaking. The view from that room is spectacular."

Kaori nodded. "Yes, it's quite something. I'm glad I got to see it as it was supposed to look."

Sakura debated pushing the subject but decided against it. Pry too much and Kaori would clam up. She'd learned that lesson the hard way. The only person who would be able to shed any light on this place and its few inhabitants was Sasori himself. They turned into a side door just then, and a room Sakura had not seen before materialized before them. It was long and dominated by a table with many seat placements. Elaborate brass candelabras decorated the table, their candles glowing with muted light. A fire crackled on the far side of the room, and Sakura noted that there were fewer windows here than in the rooms she'd seen thus far. Several doors peppered the walls leading to who knew where. Judging from the furniture, this must be the dining room.

"Sasori-sama, I'll be right back with dinner," Kaori said suddenly.

Sakura turned and sure enough, Sasori sat at the end of the table looking bored as he examined a scroll. Their eyes locked.

"Fine," he said dismissively, although he watched Sakura as he said it.

Kaori bowed and disappeared through one of the inconspicuous doors, presumably connected to the kitchen. Relieved of her guide, Sakura felt much more exposed. Not one to waste time, Sasori gestured nonchalantly. "Take a seat."

Sakura approached his side of the table but took care to reach for a chair a respectable distance from him. She didn't get far.

"Here," he said, tapping two fingers at the placement directly to his right. Sakura just stared for a moment, weighing her next move. Should she comply or rebel? She didn't like the idea of Sasori telling her what to do, but then again this was just seating arrangements; it wasn't anything life-threatening. Deciding that it would be better not to antagonize him before she got some answers, Sakura complied and took a seat next to him. Sasori sealed the scroll he'd been looking at.

"Sleep well?"

He was leaning back in his chair with his hands on the armrests, looking the very picture of cool and collected. Sakura decided she really envied him that.

"Yeah," she said, adopting a similarly relaxed pose. Might as well get comfortable if they were going to be here a while. "At least, after I brought the color back to that room."

"About that," he said, taking a sip from the water glass set before him. "You're free to roam the castle, but don't go lighting fires everywhere. Too much smoke is noticeable from miles away."

Sakura immediately tensed at those words. "You say it like someone might be looking for you."

"There's always someone watching, Sakura, no matter how far you run. Caution is a virtue."

She bit the inside of her cheek. Every time he spoke, it seemed that he dangled some big fat secret in front of her like a cat's toy, just out of her reach. Just as she was about to question him, a door opened to reveal Kaori and one of the men Sakura had observed this morning. They bore several plates of food, which were set before Sakura and Sasori wordlessly. Sakura turned her attention to the sustenance, her stomach taking that time to remind her how empty it was after her all-day nap.

It was some kind of meat—poultry, perhaps? Stringy green beans and boiled potatoes served as side dishes, and Sakura was given an empty glass for water. The presentation was simple and to the point, nothing over the top the way that her dinner with Orochimaru had been. There was just enough for the two of them, no extra plates or utensils for aesthetic purposes. And it smelled absolutely delicious.

Sakura caught Kaori's eye and smiled, a whispered thank you on her lips. The brunette maid just bowed politely and left without a word, leaving Sakura alone with Sasori once more. Never one to wait for others, he began to eat. Sakura decided that there was no reason to hold off, either. The first bite of the meat was good, but it didn't taste like any fowl she'd ever had before. She chewed, her brow furrowed as she tried to place what it might be.

"Rabbit," Sasori said.

Sakura's eyes flickered to her dining partner, who looked like he'd just finished a bite of his own meal. The meaning of that word suddenly registered and she blinked. "Oh, I've never had it before."

"They're wild in these parts and unused to people," he explained, turning back to his food.

Sakura stared down at her plate, thoughtful. She cut herself another bite and ate it. "It's very good," she said, meaning it.

Sasori didn't respond to that and they continued their meal in silence. Sakura had not known just how hungry she was, apparently, if the speed with which she inhaled her meal was anything to go by. Despite the lowered standard applied to food when starving, Sakura felt like she'd been served a high class meal.

"Let's be clear about the rules," Sasori suddenly said, drawing her attention.

Any small enjoyment she'd derived from having a hot dinner promptly left her as Sakura reluctantly gave him her full attention. "Rules?"

"Locked doors are locked for a reason," he ploughed on, seemingly oblivious to her soured mood. "No one will enter your room without your consent. And under no circumstances are you to leave this building. I'll know if you try."

Sakura didn't bother concealing her displeasure. "Will I be bound and gagged too? Then you could be absolutely certain that I won't try to run."

If he sensed the obvious sarcasm in her tone, he didn't let on. "No need. You wouldn't get far in your current state anyway."

_Asshole._

Silence befell them as Sasori leaned his chin into his palm, one elbow on the table as he surveyed her. Sakura shook her head. "Why are you doing this? Am I...a prisoner?"

Honey eyes roamed her face for a moment as she voiced her fear for the first time. "As soon as you're well enough to make the journey, I'll return you to Konoha."

Sakura gaped at him, feeling almost cartoonish as she imagined her jaw dropping to the floor. Of all the things she'd been expecting him to say, that was certainly not one of them. "Konoha?"

"Unless you had another destination in mind," he said casually, finishing off his water and pouring himself another glass from the pitcher between them.

"No, it's just... I thought..."

"You thought I would keep you here against your will for some nefarious purpose."

Jade met honey and beyond all reason, Sakura almost felt embarrassed by the truth in his words. "Well, yeah."

"Don't flatter yourself. You're overthinking things."

"_Overthinking_ things? One minute we're trying to kill each other, and the next we're having dinner in a snow palace. I don't even know which way is up anymore."

"The world isn't as black and white as you seem to think it is, Sakura," Sasori said. "Just because we were enemies once, doesn't necessarily mean we're enemies now. Of course, that could always change in the future."

It wasn't a threat per se, but it didn't make her feel any better about her current predicament. She was _pretty _sure that Sasori meant her no ill will at the moment.

"Then what are we?" she demanded.

A heavy silence ensued as Sakura's question hung over them. The small flames of a nearby candelabra flickered briefly, as though buffeted by an imaginary wind.

"Mutual benefactors. You did something for me, so I did something for you in return. Since I'm giving too much, you owe me something back. It's a simple business transaction, give and take. In the end, everyone gets what they want."

"And what do you want?"

"I want your medical services," he said. "We already talked about this."

Sakura scowled at him. She remembered their earlier conversation about this, and it didn't make her any warmer to the subject. Still, his reasoning returned to her then. He'd saved her life, and if he was serious about letting her go back to Konoha once she was fully recovered, she supposed she would owe him quite a bit. That didn't mean she had to like it, though.

"What would you do if I refused?"

He inclined his head, seeming to sink deeper into his palm and giving him a dreamy look. "You wouldn't."

_Son of a—_

"You can't just make decisions for me, Sasori. I'm a real person, and it sounds like you really need this from me."

"I need the possibility of you in the worst case scenario. It's unlikely, but I prefer not to gamble with my life and have no way out."

His choice of words reminded Sakura of the strange conversation she'd had with Orochimaru. Looking at Sasori now, she had to admit that she couldn't peg him as the reckless type. Even turning himself into a puppet, as dangerous as that must have been, had ended up providing him with an ultimate defense without which he would have died for good in their last battle. No, if anything Sasori seemed like the type to plan everything out twenty steps ahead of time and keep several backup plans in the wings.

"So I'm your backup plan?"

"More like insurance."

"So if I were to heal you at some point, we'd be even then," she said neutrally, watching him for signs of treachery.

"I didn't say that."

A familiar indignation returned to Sakura and she gritted her teeth. "Excuse me."

"Not only did I save your life and risk my own in the process, but I'm also letting you recuperate here and returning you to Konoha. That's exceedingly generous."

Sakura mouthed wordlessly. "How is me preventing you from dying sometime in the future not enough to cover that? Don't you value _your_ life?" She threw his own words back at him.

"Of course I do," he said smoothly. "Which is why I'll be keeping you on call indefinitely."

"_Indefinitely?"_

"I'll summon you periodically whenever I need medical attention," he clarified, as if this would put an end to the confusion.

Sakura gripped her fork so hard her knuckles turned white. "And how long is _indefinitely_?"

"Until I'm satisfied that you've repaid your debt in full."

Sakura was outraged. The _gall _of that man! Tossing common sense and her last shred of self-preservation to the wind, Sakura threw her fork directly at his left eye at top speed. Unfortunately, Sasori caught it easily mere centimeters from its intended target and slowly lowered it to the table. A tickle of amusement brightened his expression ever so slightly as he pushed the offending utensil back toward Sakura.

"Are we clear?"

"Like _hell _we are!" she hissed, only mildly disappointed that she hadn't managed to gouge his eye out. "Are you out of your mind?"

In a split second, the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees as he suddenly took a turn for the scary. Fury and fear fought a bloody battle within her as Sakura froze under the force of Sasori's nearly palpable displeasure. He hadn't given her that look since their battle in River Country.

"I'm not a patient man, Sakura," he said softly, his tone like sharpened steel. "Now, do we have a deal?"

Sakura was so shocked by the sudden change in atmosphere that she couldn't muster the words to argue anymore. It wouldn't do any good, anyway. She couldn't refuse and he knew it. The bottom line was that she would be long dead or worse with Orochimaru if it wasn't for Sasori. She owed him for this in a way that she'd never owed anyone anything. Dying was not an option, not when her village and her teammates needed her. Not when Sasuke was still at large somewhere out there...

"Fine," she whispered. "I'll do it, but on one condition."

He said nothing, but Sakura knew she had his full attention as his honey eyes lingered on her in that deceptively casual way. She swallowed.

"Three times. You can call on me three times and I'll heal you, no questions asked. But no more than that."

He smirked. "Why three?"

Try as she might, she could not read his mood well enough to detect what kind of answer he might want. She didn't want to push him over the edge the way she had at the Tenchi Bridge. "Because you'd sooner agree to three than to two," she said carefully.

It appeared that she'd chosen the right answer.

"Fine. Three it is, but I expect you not to keep me waiting when I do call you."

_Clever bastard._

"Okay."

They lapsed into the first comfortable silence of the evening as Sakura picked at the remains of her food. Well, perhaps 'comfortable' wasn't exactly the right word. At least no one was yelling or threatening bodily harm with just one poisonous look. She wasn't entirely happy with the situation or their arrangement, but at least putting a cap on the number of times she'd be expected to help him was something. After the third time, she would be free of him for good.

"So... Where are we?" she ventured, feeling a little braver.

"Far away."

"Why can't you just tell me? It's not like I can fly out of here like you can."

"Nice try, but no."

_Fine. _"Well, who are the servants? Why are they here?"

He fixed her with a pointed look. "I'm sure you don't expect me to waste my time with menial household labor."

"Why are they cooperating with you? And why won't they tell me anything?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

_Huh?_

Sasori was leaning on his open palm again, looking for all intents and purposes bored and sleepy. Sakura was starting to mistrust that atmosphere about him.

"You may not like the answer," he added.

Sakura had never been the best at reading between the lines with people—that was always Ino's area of expertise. But the way he was looking at her, and the casual lilt to his voice made her think he wanted to tell her, perhaps because he knew she wouldn't like his answer.

"Tell me," she said firmly.

If he didn't like the hardness in her tone, he didn't let on. "Mind control, of a sort," he explained, his eyes watching her carefully.

Sakura wasn't sure how to react to that. It sounded like something out of a science fiction novel. The only people she knew who could come close to mind control were from the Yamanaka clan, but outside of that she wasn't aware that it was a popular method.

"How?"

He leaned over the table and held her gaze. "Not all puppetry requires strings."

_I feel like I'm getting nowhere fast._

Frustrated, Sakura felt her anger returning. "Okay, then _why? _It's obvious Kaori-san and the others are scared of you."

Instead of answering the fingers of Sasori's free hand began to glow, and translucent blue chakra threads extended from the tips and latched onto Sakura's own hand. Shocked, she tried to recoil but found that her hand was no longer under her control. Trepidation coiled about her like a boa constrictor waiting for the opportune moment to crush its prey. She suddenly found it hard to breathe as Sasori forced her hand to reach for his own.

"A puppet master needs puppets."

They watched, transfixed, as he coaxed her to intertwine her fingers with his. His hand was surprisingly smooth for a shinobi's. This in contrast to her hands, riddled with small scars from her academy days and the constant strain from medical chakra on her fingers. He held her hand gently in his the way a lover might, but Sakura immediately quailed at the thought. An otherwise intimate gesture was corrupted by the mere fact that he was manipulating her against her will.

She clenched her free hand, sorely tempted to reach across the table and punch him, for all the good it would do. The outcome of her last outburst gave her pause. "Let me go."

The words were so soft that she barely heard herself utter them, a soft entreaty to end whatever cruel game he was playing. After all that had happened that day, she no longer had the energy to indulge her temper. Unable to look him in the eye as she tried with all her might to ignore the warmth of his hand in hers, she missed the way his eyes searched her face, looking for something he couldn't quite name.

The sound of metal sliding against stone drew Sakura's attention and she looked up. Sasori stood and released his hold on her at the same time. Immediately, Sakura yanked her hand back to her chest protectively in case he decided to change his mind. He turned away from her.

"Kaori will see you to your room."

Before Sakura could summon the energy to say something, he exited the room with barely a sound. She'd come here looking for answers, but he'd only left her with more questions.

And she was alone once again, the fading warmth in her hand the only reminder that he'd been there with her at all.


	10. Truths and Lies

Zero Hour - Chapter 10: Truths and Lies  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Try to find out what makes you tick  
As I lie down sore and sick.  
Do you like that? Do you like that?" - Breaking Benjamin

* * *

Sai was sure this wasn't an accident. There was no way they were this easy to find. The last time, Team Kakashi had had to resort to enemy intelligence for Orochimaru's location, and this time they were going in blind. So the fact that they met with success after just barely crossing the border of Fire Country was undoubtedly an anomaly…or a trap.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

Sai followed the steep slope of the cliff to where Uchiha Sasuke, Yakushi Kabuto, and Orochimaru were standing and looking down upon the remaining members of Team Kakashi. The sight of them made him frown as he recalled the last time they'd all met like this. Sasuke declined to respond to the blond Jinchuuriki.

"My my, we have to stop meeting like this," Orochimaru said, smiling sinisterly.

"You have something of ours," Kakashi said with false amity. "We'd like her back."

"If you're referring to Haruno Sakura," Kabuto said, "then you're a bit late."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto snarled.

Sai glanced at his blond teammate and noticed the red seeping into his eyes as the Kyuubi roiled within him. Yamato watched him too, ready to suppress the demon chakra at a moment's notice.

"Just what it sounds like. She's no longer under our care."

"I'm sure I don't have to explain why I can't take your word for it," Kakashi said, pushing his hitai-ate up to reveal the Sharingan.

Orochimaru bared his teeth in amusement. "And here I thought you were here for Sasuke again. Or have you given up?"

Sasuke continued to stare down at them, unmoved by the conversation. Sai watched him with no small degree of suspicion. He might have some idea of Sakura's fate.

"Tell us where she is," Sai said, dark eyes trained on the estranged member of Team Kakashi.

Sasuke's heavy gaze fell upon his replacement, and Sai wondered briefly if he was just that—Sasuke's temporary replacement. "She left," was all the answer Sasuke gave.

_That means she's still alive..._

Kakashi picked up on the hidden meaning as well. "You let her go?"

"Not exactly," Orochimaru said. "But I did get what I wanted from her, so it's no difference to me."

Sasuke turned to look at Orochimaru, and Sai wondered what he was thinking.

"And what might that be?" Kakashi said.

"Come now, Copy Ninja. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. And I do love surprises," Orochimaru grinned.

"Bastard, why didn't you get her outta there sooner?" Naruto shouted at Sasuke. "She's your teammate!"

"Oh Naruto, when will you learn? Sasuke-kun doesn't have a team anymore. He doesn't need you," Kabuto said.

"Come down here and say that again, asshole!"

Yamato put a hand on Naruto's shoulder preemptively.

"Orochimaru, let's go," Sasuke said, dismissing his old team. "You wanted to talk to them, and now you have. Stop wasting time."

Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke as though he were amused by the boy's rudeness. "You're too impatient, and because of that you miss what's truly important. You still have much to learn, boy."

The sound of rushing wind floated up the cliff face, and the three Sound shinobi returned their attention to Team Kakashi, where Naruto had fired up a Rasengan.

"Enough of this," Naruto said with eerie calm. "You're gonna tell me where Sakura-chan is, or I'm gonna shove this Rasengan down your throat."

Kabuto took a threatening step forward in preparation for any sudden attack, sunlight reflecting off his glasses with the movement. It was then that Sai noticed they were taped across the bridge, as though they'd broken recently and Kabuto hadn't had time to procure a spare pair.

Orochimaru laughed throatily. "You truly are Jiraiya's student, just as Sakura takes after Tsunade-hime. But believe me when I say there's no point to your chase. She won't be found until the time is right. If he's one thing, it's good at hiding."

"Who?" Naruto demanded. "Are you saying someone took her? Where are they?"

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto cautioned. "It might be prudent…"

Orochimaru waved him off. "No, I think I've been more than helpful for one day. Besides, I have my own score to settle with him when the time is right."

Naruto was done talking. Sai blinked, and Naruto was instantly gone from his side and tearing up the cliff face, Rasengan roiling. Without pausing to think, Sai took off after the blond, brush and scroll at the ready.

"Naruto!" Yamato yelled.

But Naruto paid him no mind as he rushed Orochimaru, red chakra billowing behind him as Sai rapidly scrawled images of otherworldly beasts to summon for whatever explosive battle was coming. A loud _crack _resounded just before Naruto could reach the snake Sannin, who hadn't even bothered to move an inch in the face of the incoming attack. Sai skidded to a halt at the edge of the cliff and bore witness to the brilliant light show that was the clash of Rasengan and Chidori. Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other over their respective power attacks, stuck in a stalemate.

"Get out of my way," Naruto growled, demon eyes slit in warning.

Sasuke stared down his best friend, inwardly marveling at how much stronger Naruto was now than he'd been during their last fight in the Valley of the End. As little as Orochimaru's death would pain him, Sasuke could not afford to lose the Sannin at this time. There were still some things left for him to learn before he returned to his life's goal. Sharingan eyes remained cold and unmoving despite the oppressive thickness of Naruto's demon chakra.

"She's safe," Sasuke whispered, softly enough so that only Naruto would hear over the roar of the Chidori.

Naruto blinked, not having expected that. "You don't know—"

"I do," Sasuke interrupted. "She won't die so easily."

_Not after what Kabuto put her through._

Naruto couldn't find words to respond to that. He was so shocked that Sasuke had actually helped in a roundabout way that he let up. Seeing an opening, Sasuke didn't hesitate to shove Naruto bodily away, causing the blond to stumble. Kakashi and Yamato, in the meantime, had joined the rest of the group on top of the cliff and stood their ground. Sasuke slowly let his Chidori fizzle out.

Orochimaru's laughter filled the air. "Well, as amusing as this reunion has been, we must be going now. Kabuto, Sasuke."

Kabuto backed away from Team Kakashi, while Orochimaru simply turned his back on them, unconcerned. Sasuke held Naruto's gaze for a moment longer, but no more words were exchanged. The Sound shinobi quickly faded into the surrounding forest, and all traces that they'd been there left with them save for the faint smell of ozone leftover from Sasuke's Chidori.

Sai was the first to speak. "What did he say?"

Naruto stared at the place where the friend he'd been chasing for the better part of three years had eluded him once more, this time by his own volition. "He said she's safe." He turned to look between the other three men.

Kakashi sighed. "She could be anywhere."

"I believe him," Naruto pressed. "Sasuke wouldn't lie to me about this. I know him."

"Sasuke is with Sound," Yamato said reluctantly.

"If Naruto says he believes Sasuke, then I believe him too," Sai said thoughtfully. "Sasuke is still our teammate, right?"

Naruto turned surprised blue eyes on Sai, taking a moment to register the meaning in those words. When the shock wore off, he grinned tiredly at the artist. "Yeah, that's right."

Sai smiled his fake smile and thought he was starting to understand these things called 'bonds' a little more every day.

* * *

"What did you tell the Jinchuuriki?"

Sasuke didn't bother looking at Orochimaru when he posed the question, knowing there was a right and a wrong answer to it. Instead of giving the man the satisfaction, he remained silent. Avoidance and carefully guarded emotions usually spared him from whatever manipulation or torture Orochimaru had planned. He'd learned that the hard way.

"Did you tell him about Sasori?" Kabuto said.

Keeping his eyes glued resolutely to the path before him, Sasuke recalled that night mere weeks ago. Drawn by the shouts of the Sound nin, he'd arrived in time to witness the end of the ruthless slaughter and had to tread carefully so as not to trip over the bleeding bodies. It couldn't have been Sakura's doing, he'd thought to himself. This level of merciless carnage didn't suit her, especially since he knew how weakened she'd become thanks to Kabuto's gruesome methods. Curious, he scaled the wall and followed the shadow he'd seen disappear over the side.

He hadn't even registered the trap until he was upon it. Some kind of black substance, sand perhaps, swirled before him menacingly. Pale moonlight reflected off his Sharingan and revealed two cloaked figures, one of whom was floating. It didn't take long for him to notice the chakra strings connecting them.

_The puppet technique._

Cold, amber eyes locked with his, seemingly unconcerned about meeting him. It was then that Sasuke noticed Sakura passed out in the unknown shinobi's arms. A short staring contest ensued as Sasuke wondered who this person could be and what he wanted with a battered kunoichi.

"You're Itachi's little brother."

At the mention of Itachi, Sasuke immediately became suspicious. "Who are you?"

"That's not important. Run back to your master now."

Sasuke didn't care about this man's rude demeanor. He'd grown accustomed to malice over the years. "What are you going to do with her?"

The redheaded shinobi smirked. "Care to try and stop me?"

Judging from the moribund state of the twenty plus Sound nin on the other side of the wall and his admitted unfamiliarity with the puppet technique, Sasuke was actually disinclined to engage this person. No normal shinobi would ever dare intrude on Orochimaru's main base. This person was something else entirely. He could tell by the calmness the man exuded, his confident posture, and his lack of hurry despite having been discovered.

"No," Sasuke said, adopting a more relaxed pose. He turned as if to leave, but paused with an afterthought. "Are you going to kill her?"

"That," the unknown shinobi said, "would be a waste."

Sasuke showed the unknown shinobi his back, satisfied with this. "Fine."

"Uchiha Sasuke," he called before Sasuke could scale the wall once more.

Sasuke turned slightly and waited.

"If you want to survive Orochimaru, I suggest you start playing the game by your own rules."

Sasuke turned back to look at the unnamed shinobi, but he was gone, and Sakura with him. It wasn't until later, when Orochimaru had inspected the bodies piled high in the courtyard, that he'd discerned the identity of the midnight intruder. Sasuke had never seen Orochimaru so eerily silent, almost troubled, until then. Akasuna no Sasori had been Orochimaru's partner in Akatsuki, and someone he now considered an important enemy. In retrospect, Sasuke was glad he hadn't engaged Sasori, not that he would have anyway. Facing an Akatsuki would have been more trouble than it was worth.

Sasuke launched himself off the next branch, blinking the memory away as he returned his attention to the present.

"Well?"

The last Uchiha pressed his lips together, the only outward show of some inner annoyance with all this. He didn't know why Sasori, someone who'd probably worked closely with Itachi in the past as an ally, would do him any favors. But Sasuke knew instinctively that the man was right. He would do well to heed the advice.

"No."

Orochimaru peered at his star pupil, searching for cracks in his armor. He found none.

_Perhaps I've trained him too well._

No more words were exchanged that day.

* * *

The days passed much more slowly than Sakura would have liked despite the amount of time she spent sleeping. No matter how much she rested, she still felt like she'd been run over by stampeding elephants. Every day she attempted to access her chakra, and every time she ended up suffering painful repercussions. But the amount of time for which she could sustain her chakra flow increased slightly every day, and this alone gave her the reassurance that her recovery was very real. Still, she had to admit to herself that any long distance journey in the frigid winter weather was out of the question at this point.

Sasori seemed to be gone most of the time. Whether he was somewhere behind one of the many locked doors she'd encountered in her exploration of the castle or physically off the premises, she could not be sure. He hadn't summoned her to dine with him again since the first night, so she'd taken to having her meals in the smaller basement kitchen unperturbed. Sometimes Kaori would sit and chat with her, but those conversations were usually mundane and formal; the brunette woman never had anything of substance to say.

_Yeah, because she's being brainwashed, _Sakura thought grimly.

Now that she had an idea of how Sasori was controlling the staff here, she found it both morbidly fascinating and abjectly disgusting. To control another person in any way was deplorable in her mind, but what could be done? It didn't seem like Kaori was in any physical pain or being subjected to torture. Still, Sakura didn't like it at all.

At one point when she was poking around the basement and checking behind closed doors, she ran into one of the men she'd met in the kitchen several days ago. He was carrying a box of what appeared to be supplies, including medications and various construction tools. Sakura immediately became suspicious. Judging by his flushed face, winter clothing, and snow in his hair, he obviously had just returned from a trip to civilization. Which meant there was an exit around here.

She spent two hours looking for the exit that day to no avail. And all she had to show for herself by the end of it was sweat and an aching knee.

The one highlight of her exploration of the castle, however, was the discovery of the largest library Sakura had ever seen in all her life. Like most of the other rooms, this one was high-ceilinged and boasted wide windows with heavy drapes. The first thing she did upon stumbling into this room was pull back the curtains—after she took a private moment to drool over the hundreds and hundreds of books crammed into the wall length shelves.

Scattered among the shelving and above the large hearth was more beautiful garniture, though it looked immaculate in comparison to what she'd found in the parlor several days ago. The furniture was also uncovered, and ashes in the fireplace suggested that this room had been used recently. Thinking little of it, Sakura turned her attention to the multitude of books just waiting to be read.

This collection had a little bit of everything. From military tactics of the past millenium to art and architecture, it seemed that every topic was accounted for. She settled for an epic biography of a warrior from long ago. Plopping herself onto one of the couches near the fire she'd lit previously, Sakura sighed and began to read.

"I was wondering when you'd find this room."

After several days without seeing much of Sasori, Sakura tensed at the sound of his voice at the entrance to the library. Not waiting for her answer, he strode into the room as though he owned the place, immediately drawing up to a bookshelf and examining the titles.

"You could have just told me there was a library here," Sakura said, slightly annoyed. "It would have been nice to have something to pass the time these last few days instead of staring at the wall."

"You've been sleeping most of the time. Reading would only keep you awake and slow down your recovery," he said, somewhat distracted as he perused the book titles.

"Oh," Sakura said, not having expected that. It was almost...nice, in a roundabout way.

He didn't say anything as he moved to the next shelf, eyes trained on the books in front of him. Sakura suddenly wondered if he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Do you... Are you looking for something in particular?" she tried.

"Are you offering to help look?"

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice. The mild embarrassment that followed confused her, and she had to physically shake her head to dispel the odd sensation. "You just seem a little lost over there."

He finally selected a book from the shelf and made his way toward her. "I've just read most of these already."

Sakura watched as he took a seat in the couch directly opposite her, making himself comfortable among the embroidered throw pillows. A short silence reigned as they sized each other up. Sakura closed her book.

"Where do you go during the day?"

"Here and there," he said, adopting that now familiar lazy look she didn't trust for a minute.

"I just can't imagine what keeps you so busy, now that you're apparently not with Akatsuki anymore."

Sakura held her breath as Sasori scrutinized her, wondering if she'd said too much.

"It's because I'm not with Akatsuki anymore that I'm so busy," he said, honey eyes locked on hers for a reaction.

"Are they looking for you?" she asked quietly, almost dreading whatever answer he had.

Sasori leaned back into his couch, the ghost of a smirk softening his features. "They don't know about this place," he said. "Or about you."

Her previous embarrassment returned then, and Sakura leaned back and crossed her arms. "Why would they even care about me? It's you they're after, anyway."

"If word got out that I had an elite medical ninja helping me, you could become a target."

She knew what he was doing. He wanted to scare her, make her think that powerful missing nin would come after her and murder her in her sleep, probably for some twisted desire to see her squirm.

Sadly, it was working.

"If my life or the lives of the people I care about are put in danger because of our arrangement—"

"Relax, Sakura," he said, turning his attention to his book. "Akatsuki are the least of my worries."

She got the feeling he was dismissing her, and that ticked her off. "Hey, not all of us are S-class criminals here. The last thing I need is to put myself at unnecessary risk by helping _you."_

"Then I suggest you keep our _arrangement_ to yourself when you do return to Konoha," he said. "Akatsuki have eyes and ears everywhere."

She scowled. Obviously she couldn't tell anyone about this, not even her team. Doing so would force her to reveal what really happened at the Tenchi Bridge, and in the worst case scenario it might even look like she considered Sasori a real ally despite his criminal history. He was right. For both their sakes, she'd have to keep the truth of all this under wraps.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds were the crackling fire and the intermittent turning of a page as Sasori read his book. Sakura watched him discreetly, pretending to go back to her reading. She had to admit that when he wasn't glaring at her or acting scary, he looked deceptively normal. It would be so easy to look at him like this and forget about who he was. He didn't look like a villain at all.

But she couldn't forget the last time they'd interacted, and how he'd forced her to touch him against her will. Sasori was a master manipulator, and he probably viewed her as a pawn to be controlled to suit his own needs. She doubted he saw her as a real person beyond what he required of her. She was just a means to an end. And somehow, that thought made her just as sad as it did angry.

"You're staring."

His voice broke her out of her thoughts, and Sakura suddenly realized she hadn't been as discreet in her observation as she thought. She immediately became flustered at the thought that this looked like much more than it really was. She totally _wasn't_ just checking him out.

"What are you reading?" she asked, smothering any lingering feelings of embarrassment.

"A medical text," he answered. "Your reaction to the chakra sealing agent raised some questions."

"Oh," she said, perking up a bit, her previous irritation fading. "I didn't know you were so interested in medicine."

"I didn't say that. I'm only interested in acquiring knowledge, especially when I encounter something I've never seen before."

She let that one slide. After all, it wasn't something she wanted to argue with him on. "What kind of questions did you have?"

He looked up at her then. "None I can't answer for myself."

She rolled her eyes. "You're really going to play the tough guy when I'm offering so nicely?"

The words escaped her before she had a chance to check herself. She really needed to stop spending so much time with people like Naruto and Sai. Unlike with her teammates, speaking so freely in front of Sasori could land her in a heap of trouble.

"Fine," he said before she could wallow in her uncertainty much longer. "I'll hear your opinion."

"Oh," Sakura said, a little pleased. "Okay then."

He told her about how he'd created the original formula for the awful chakra serum Kabuto had given her, and how it was meant to be given sparingly for use in interrogations. When she asked why, Sasori just said that prisoners were always killed after being interrogated, so a one-time dose was always all that was needed. Sakura tried to pretend like she hadn't heard that part, and launched into a discussion about chakra sealing and its side effects.

They ended up talking for the better part of the afternoon, shifting from Sakura's own recovery process to the role of chakra in medicine in general. Needless to say, Sakura was impressed with Sasori's remarkable erudition on the subject. He'd certainly spent far more time studying her trade than the average shinobi, and from her own recovery she knew he was capable of applying theory to practice. After a while, she forgot exactly who she was talking to as she felt herself get pulled into a world that was familiar and comfortable, discussing her passion with someone who could appreciate it at a level her teammates and most friends in Konoha couldn't quite meet.

"I don't mean anything by this, but I can't imagine why someone like you would bother with medical ninjutsu. I mean, you were a puppet for so long," Sakura said.

"It's necessary to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Besides, medical knowledge is a requirement for creating human puppets and poisons."

_Ah, right..._

She was kind of sorry she mentioned it now, her thoughts drifting to his Third Kazekage puppet and the knowledge that it had been a real person once. Still, it was intriguing. How had he done it? Chiyo had said that he was the only person capable of turning people into puppets.

"You want to know how I create human puppets," he said.

Sakura met his eyes, alight with visible interest at the topic he favored most. "Why would I?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes. You're curious." He leaned forward across the small table separating them, as though daring her to challenge his observation. "Most shinobi simply kill and move on. Only medical ninja stop to ask 'why' and 'how'. In a way, they're more intimately familiar with death than others."

She supposed that was true, but the way he said it made the whole thing sound darker than she would have liked. "I suppose that's one way to put it."

Sasori stood, tucking his book under his arm. "I have some things I need to take care of now."

"Oh, okay," she said, a little disappointed. She'd actually been enjoying their conversation once it took a turn for the academic.

He walked around their seating area until he stood directly behind her. A warm hand on Sakura's shoulder nearly made her jump. "I'll see you tonight," he said, breaking the fleeting contact and retreating to the door.

Sakura twisted around on her couch to watch him leave, the door closing behind him with a heavy _click. _Instinctively, she rubbed the shoulder he'd touched ever so briefly. She felt as though he'd stepped over an invisible line just then, but only enough to get her attention. She wanted to be repulsed, but she found that the feeling wouldn't come. He hadn't really done anything reprehensible... Hugging her knees to her chest, Sakura lay back on the couch and wished for sleep, anything to give her respite from Akasuna no Sasori.

* * *

The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful. Sakura awoke from her nap in the library to find the fire dying, only the smoking coals left to glow and produce little warmth. She decided to leave, noticing the dimness of the room as night began to fall. It might be time to procure some food soon, she decided.

Wandering back out into the hallway, she passed by the door to the lavish dining room. Despite their tentative truce after the first _not _hostile conversation they'd managed to engage in, Sakura couldn't not put the memory of his manipulation out her head. He was still the villain, still a threat. She'd do well to remember that.

Picking up her pace, she briskly made her way through the door behind the heavy tapestry in the grand hall. She'd just have to take dinner downstairs as usual. If Sasori truly had business with her, he'd probably just invade her personal space later. Despite his rules about not going into her room without permission, she could not imagine Akasuna no Sasori asking if he could pretty please come into her room for a chat.

Making her way down the chilly stone corridor, Sakura passed the doors without paying them too much mind, having long since memorized the location of her small quarters relative to the many other identical doors. Bypassing it in favor of potentially locating dinner in the cellar kitchen, she was quite confused to hear voices the closer she came.

"...bad enough you knew about this," Sasori's muffled voice drifted along the empty hallway to Sakura's waiting ears.

"...think I wouldn't figure it out? You're...never change, yeah."

Sakura frowned, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she tried to place the barely familiar voice. It felt like trying to remember a dream after waking—the memory existed, but she had no context in which to ground it. Slowly, cautiously, she crept closer to the open kitchen doorway.

"Does he know you're here?" Sasori said, tone laced with the dreaded coldness that reminded Sakura so much of his puppet self.

"Huh? Why do you even care? He's an idiot."

"Listen to me, _boy," _Sasori said through gritted teeth. "He's not what he seems."

"Whatever, you're being really paranoid—"

The muffled sound of something heavy but soft slamming against the wall was followed by the hasty rustling of fabric. It sounded like a skirmish was underway. Was there an enemy here? Was Sasori fighting him off? Had Akatsuki finally come for them? Alarmed, Sakura peeked around the corner. What she saw confirmed every one of her fears.

"Wake up," Sasori hissed. "I'll kill you before he even realizes you're missing, mark my words. Now answer me. Does he know where you are?"

Sakura stared, green eyes wide, as she recognized the newcomer and tried to process what this meant. Confusion and rage and boiled within her, black and desperate.

"No." It came out barely audible as he struggled for air. "After we sealed the Three-Tails," he wheezed, trying in vain to suck in air. "After, he went back to Rain to report. I came alone...family leave, yeah."

Sasori glared up at the younger man, clearly not amused. Sakura felt like she watched them for much longer than the split second that passed before Sasori acknowledged her.

"Sakura," he said, still not taking his eyes off of the newcomer. "It's rude to lurk in doorways."

Sakura could not move. After getting over the shock that someone had _found them, _she now registered the telltale black and red Akatsuki garb that summoned images from a battle that had pushed her beyond her limits so long ago, unbidden. Looking between Sasori and this intruder, she felt the fleeting sensation of fear, the same fear she'd felt facing Orochimaru not knowing whether she would be alone in her plight.

He coughed, but Sasori held him steady. He didn't acknowledge her, preferring to look annoyed as he kept his attention on Sasori. Apparently, being strangled was a non-issue.

"_You,"_ she whispered, eyes glued to the Akatsuki. _I remember you._

One visible blue eye finally turned to look at her, and Sakura felt her fury finally manifest itself in palpable waves. Sasori picked that time to retract his hand.

"Deidara, you remember Haruno Sakura, I'm sure," Sasori said calmly. Too calmly.

Sakura clenched her fists at the mention of that name. _Deidara. _Yes, she remembered him all right. She remembered how he'd defiled Gaara's corpse and taunted Naruto with the murder of his friend. She remembered how much she'd wanted to punch a bloody hole through his cackling face.

"_You!" _Deidara rasped, rubbing his neck as his wide blue eye took in her appearance. Turning back to Sasori he said, "What the hell, Sasori? Why's _she_ here?"

_Sasori's old partner,_ Sakura thought to herself, only the shock of the moment keeping her rooted to the spot. _All this time, was he really still with Akatsuki?_

Despite her rattling hands, Sakura managed to summon her slowly returning chakra to a fist. One moment, she was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and the next she was advancing on Deidara, fist pulled back and ready to smash his face in.

The blond noticed her approach, easily discerning the imminent danger after having witnessed the awesome power of her small fists before. He showed her his left palm, the small mouth suddenly revealing a hidden explosive—_just in case._

Sakura didn't care. Releasing an unintelligible grunt, she forced her weight forward and made to slug him. Deidara bared his teeth in frustration, shoving his small bomb toward her. He said something, but Sakura couldn't make it out over the deafening pounding of her heartbeat in her ears. Just as they were about to unleash their power upon each other, something very strange happened.

The world screeched to an abrupt standstill, and Sakura and Deidara with it, as all motor capabilities abandoned them. Even Deidara's small avian bomb float in mid-air, suspended.

"That's enough, both of you," Sasori said, sounding only mildly annoyed. "You'll tear this place apart, and then I'll have to kill you."

Sakura couldn't tell who exactly Sasori was threatening with homicide, but she supposed it was best to assume the worst when it came to him.

"Hey, she started it!" Deidara griped, still bent at an odd angle as Sasori's strings froze him in an action stance.

Sasori actually rolled his eyes at that. Sakura, however, was even more upset than she'd been moments ago. She couldn't move, couldn't defend herself, and as her chakra faded a depressingly familiar pain singed every nerve ending in her body. Livid green eyes turn on Sasori.

"Release me _right now,_ or so help me I'll—"

She never finished her sentence. Sasori's strings released her and she toppled to the ground on one knee, fresh pain blooming at the abrupt contact with hard stone. Thankfully, it was her good knee that took the abuse. Sakura was feeling anything but thankful right now, though. Using a hand to steady herself on the ground, she looked up at the two men. Their imposing forms loomed high above her, a trick of the light caused by her new lack of height. They stared down at her, and Sakura felt weaker in this new position than she had moments ago under Sasori's overbearing influence.

When Sasori reached out a hand toward her, she smacked it away without a second thought. "Don't touch me," she hissed.

Green eyes shifted between the two men looking down on her, wishing she had her strength back. They'd never look down on her like this if she was at her best. Sasori kneeled down before her, honey eyes hard and boring through her. He looked angry.

"You lied to me," Sakura said, still trying to will the pain in her body away. "You said you weren't Akatsuki anymore."

"Sasori, are you gonna explain what your killer's doing in _your _house? What is this, some kinky puppet thing or—"

Sasori fisted the hand still controlling Deidara, forcing the blond to slam against the wall behind him with a muffled _oomph. _His eyes never left Sakura, who looked every bit the caged bird.

"I'll deal with you later, Deidara," he said coldly. After a moment, he addressed Sakura again. "I'm only going to tell you this once. I hate repeating myself. I told you already that I'm not with Akatsuki." After giving her a short moment to consider the whisper of a threat in his words, he added, "And I never lie."

Before Sakura could tell him just how much she doubted that, he gripped her upper arm with his free hand and hauled her to her feet. Her legs felt like they were tied in a knot due to her impromptu chakra exertion and fresh injury, but Sasori held her steady. She was suddenly reminded of the way he'd literally pulled her from the clutches of certain death at Orochimaru's hideout. Deidara still watched them, having already gotten the message to wait his turn.

"Leave us for now. Deidara and I have some things to discuss," Sasori said, already nudging her toward the doorway.

Sakura rested a hand on the stone archway leading into the hallway and looked back at the pair. Deidara just glared at her, and Sasori had adopted that heavy, cold look he got when he was impatient about something. She wanted to yell at him, unable to accept his proclamation with a red-blooded Akatsuki standing just feet away in that horrid black and red robe.

But the energy was gone, replaced by pain and something else she couldn't quite name as she stared between Sasori and Deidara, no longer recognizing anything. With uncharacteristic listlessness, she turned away without even acknowledging the room's other occupants and made the trek back to her room.

It was slow going with her new limp, but once she arrived she made sure to close and lock the door behind her. Minutes passed, long and lonely, as Sakura tried to process what she'd just witnessed. Akatsuki was here. Akatsuki knew about Sasori, and now they would know about her. It didn't even matter what the reality of her circumstances here were; she was an accomplice. Deidara would report this all back to his boss. That is, if Sasori let him live.

Appetite suddenly lost, Sakura sank into bed and wished to awaken from this nightmare. An insidious voice whispered from a dark corner of her mind that Sasori had betrayed whatever fantasy of allegiance and understanding this situation had created for them, however tenuous.

Worst of all, it was that perceived betrayal of a paperthin alliance forged of blood and mercy that hurt her the most.

* * *

She couldn't tell how much time had passed since she collapsed onto the fluffy red duvet, but the hearth was nearly dark with only the pitiful shadow of a blaze reduced to mere cinders. Sleep clawed at Sakura with long, rending nails, trying to pull her back to the dream world, but something in her gut told her that the silence was not to be trusted. The room was too cold, and no one had been in here since she slammed the door earlier.

Rubbing tired, red-rimmed eyes, Sakura shook the sleep away and slipped out of bed onto the carpeted floor. She shivered suddenly, hating how cold and stagnant the air in here felt without a big fire burning. But there were more pressing matters to worry about. Like Deidara, and if he was still here somewhere.

Drawing on a small bit of her chakra, Sakura healed her previously injured knee enough to support her weight as she walked. Every day she recovered a bit more, and that was another day closer to her homecoming. She unlocked her bedroom door and pushed it open, entering the dimly lit stone corridor. If she didn't know better, she'd say this place was deserted of all life. Not a sound penetrated the thick silence as Sakura looked down the hallway in the direction of the cellar kitchen. Having skipped dinner, she was now ravenous. But considering what had transpired earlier in that very room, she hesitated.

Sasori had already told her he required her medical skills, and he'd said he planned on returning her to Konoha. If he meant what he said about never lying, then surely she need not fear for her safety from the likes of Deidara. She swallowed hard.

_Assuming he wasn't lying about that too..._

"You're being ridiculous, Sakura," she whispered out loud.

She would have been killed in her sleep if Deidara had, by some miracle, overpowered Sasori and still had energy to off her. The chances of that were unlikely, knowing Sasori's strength first-hand like she did. Emboldened, but no more comforted by the thought, Sakura padded toward the kitchen, silent as a wraith. When she arrived at her destination and the place looked deserted, she couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her. The last thing she needed right now was another confrontation. Looking toward the cupboards where she knew the cutlery was kept, Sakura crossed the room. After rummaging about for a short moment, she closed the cabinet and turned to the refrigerator only to come face-to-face with Sasori. She yelped and dropped the cup she'd been holding. It shattered on the stone floor, almost painfully loud in the silence.

"Sasori," she breathed, eyes wide and dilated in the darkness. "You scared me."

He looked lazy and calm leaning against the counter, watching her with those unreadable honey eyes. But the more closely Sakura looked as her initial surprise wore off, she decided that something about him seemed...off.

"Do I scare you?"

"No," she said firmly, regretting her earlier word choice. "You just startled me is all."

He said nothing to that, just continued to watch her. Again, something about the way his eyes lingered bothered her, but she couldn't place why. "Where's Deidara?"

Sasori pushed off the counter and took a step toward her. "Around."

Sakura pressed her lips together, but held her ground despite his new proximity. "Why is he here? He's Akatsuki, and if I'm supposed to believe that you're not one of them anymore, then I think you better explain."

Sasori let out a sharp breath, as though amused. "Do you honestly think you're in any position to be making demands of me?"

This time Sakura did take a step back. She understood now why he was acting strangely. "You've been drinking."

"Perceptive," he said, though it sounded more sarcastic than sincere. He took another step toward her to compensate for the distance she'd put between them.

Sakura clenched her fists. "I need to hear it again. Tell me you're not with Akatsuki, and Deidara's not a threat."

He didn't respond as he continued to force her retreat toward the wall. She felt her back connect with cold stone, but Sakura kept her gaze as steady as she could. "Please," she implored. "I have to get back to Konoha..."

Sasori drew ever closer, placing one hand on the wall by her head but not touching her. His face was so close that Sakura could smell the alcohol on his breath. Immured between a stone wall and a man who could kill her without a second thought, she felt her pulse spike. Half-lidded honey eyes watched her, and Sakura tried to swallow the heart that had jumped into her throat.

"S-Sasori?" she tried.

The feel of a hand on her wrist all of a sudden made her gasp for want for breath. His touch seared her skin through her clothing despite the chill in the room. He was starting to alarm her again with this inappropriate proximity, and yet Sakura could not bring herself to look away. His breath felt warm against her cheek.

"Sakura," he said, mimicking her.

A shiver ran up her spine as he spoke her name, rich and thick as dark chocolate. This was wrong. Whatever game he was playing, this was going way too far. Was it some new means of torture or mind manipulation, getting physically close to her like this? She certainly felt cornered like this, unable to escape him and yet hesitant to retaliate lest he become angry. Unwilling to allow him to come any closer, she brought her free hand up before her to shield her body and block any further advance. Her open palm pressed against his chest, and Sakura could make out the steady beating of his heart beneath his clothing.

"Deidara is the least of your worries," he said softly.

"Then what exactly should I be worried about?" she countered, not feeling the bravery she tried so hard to exude. "You?"

"That depends on what you're afraid of." His grip on her wrist remained firm but painless.

"Why are you doing this?" she breathed, torn between trepidation and confusion. Blood and adrenaline raced in her veins, telling her that she was in a very compromising situation like this.

"Why?" he repeated, moving the hand on her wrist to the ends of her hair, twirling a few wayward strands between his long fingers.

Sakura remembered the last time Sasori had come so close to her. Back then, he'd used his chakra strings to restrain her as he invaded her personal space. He wasn't resorting to chakra now, but the violation was just as real now as it had been then. Normally, Sasori walked a fine line between calm and murderous. Under the influence of alcohol, Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to bet on his cooperation should she physically push him away.

His fingers moved from her hair to the smooth skin of her jaw, making her suck in a breath at the new contact. A part of her wanted to rip his hand away, but her body would not obey. All she could think about was how gentle his touch was despite the circumstances, how warm he felt. Tears of frustration stung her eyes.

"Stop this," she said. "You're drunk. Please, don't ruin..."

His thumb dragged along her jawline, tilting her face upward ever so slightly. "People love to be manipulated," he said finally. "They want to be controlled so that they don't have to take responsibility for themselves."

Sakura's eyes flew open, her previous anger upon seeing Deidara returning. "I don't _want_ to be controlled," she said, pushing back on his chest and grabbing his wrist in her hand to stop any further violation of her person.

Honey eyes watched her, the hazy light of inebriation suddenly dulled and replaced with something harder and far more lucid. For a fleeting moment, Sakura almost thought he looked angry. It was gone as quickly as it had come. He let his hands fall, breaking free of her grasp. "...I don't want to control you."

Green eyes widened in shock, but Sasori turned away from her and exited the room before she could think of something to say. Alone and still pressed against the cold stone wall, Sakura blinked and remembered to breathe. The chill of the room bombarded her now that Sasori was gone, and with him the only source of heat in the room. She raised a trembling hand to her face, willing herself to calm down. Silence fell heavy and thick all about her.

All alone once more, Sakura felt herself running in circles as the man she thought she'd pegged for the heartless machine suddenly reminded her that he was human too. It was with equal parts pride and trepidation that Sakura started to think she was more than a mere pawn to be cast in this game he'd involved her in.


	11. Closer

Zero Hour - Chapter 11: Closer  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"There is a shadow here, but there's no light behind me.  
The stains of blood on the floor serve to remind me.  
The time is drawing near, turns like a knife inside me.  
I've never wanted it more.  
Come stand beside me." - The Birthday Massacre

* * *

Sakura did not leave her room after the Incident, as she was now calling it—god forbid she even _think_ about what had happened in any sort of detail, lest she feel phantom fingers in her hair, his eyes warm and inviting, that flutter in her stomach as she wondered if this was what her first kiss was going to be like and why Sasuke hadn't crossed her mind at all. Under the fluffy aegis of her red duvet, she buried her face into the pillow and clenched her jaw until it hurt.

_Stop thinking, just stop._

She'd turned over in her mind Sasori's cryptic, if not downright contradictory, words against his actions up until this point until the wee hours of the morning, feeling groggy and delusional to the point where she'd even convinced herself that she'd dreamed the whole thing up. But she knew that was wishful thinking. Everything about Sasori was terribly real.

Sakura wanted to scream into her pillow the way she had the night before. It would do her no good, really, and she didn't want Kaori to hear her again like she had last night. It had taken nearly twenty minutes for Sakura to convince the simple maid to leave her in peace, but not before Kaori had insisted that she drink some soup to soothe her abused throat. Letting it run cold out of spite and her own dark distractions, Sakura was thankful for Kaori's insistence later when she realized settling for cold soup was better than leaving her little make-believe sanctuary to venture back into that kitchen for food. But that excuse was fast running its course and then some as her stomach rumbled loudly. She was starting to fear that someone would come running through the door to tell her to keep it down. _That _was the last thing she wanted. Still, Sakura hesitated.

_Starve or potentially face Sasori. Maybe I could run quickly? In and out, and no one will ever know._

More wishful thinking. Sasori had an uncanny knack for knowing just when and where she happened to be most of the time, like a shadow lurking in the corner. Shivering, Sakura indulged this childish fear and glanced nervously at said corner, half expecting the redhead to materialize through the thick stone wall and pin her with his strings.

And yet...

"_I don't want to control you."_

"Then _what _do you want?" she whispered into her pillow.

Maybe this was another lie. Maybe his plan was to lull her into a false sense of security, make her believe that this was all going to be okay, and she'd be back with her friends and family in Konoha come morning, no harm done. She wanted to laugh. Sasori couldn't have left anything or anyone unharmed if he tried. But a little voice, something soft and hopeful and maybe a little afraid wondered if he meant what he'd said. If he'd meant it when he told her he never lied. If he didn't truly see her as a piece to be played, but as something...

Sakura sat up suddenly, the abrupt change in position making her lightheaded and banishing any whims conjured up by that last thought. She did _not _want to think about what Sasori might view her as if not something to control and exploit.

"You're being ridiculous. If he wanted you dead, you'd have been dead long ago. Get a grip."

Her stomach took that time to growl once again. If she didn't get some food, she was sure it would come alive and start devouring her liver. Hastily running her fingers through her bedhead out of habit, Sakura slipped out of bed. The algid air made her shiver, and she could feel the gooseflesh forming under her sweater. As soon as she was better, she was leaving this place and not looking back. He wanted her to believe that he never lied? Well, that was just fine. She'd be happy to remind him of his promise to return her to Konoha once she was travel-ready. Bolstered by the first not entirely depressing or embarrassing thought in almost twenty-four hours, Sakura emerged into the familiar hallway that led to the basement pantry and padded along as quickly as her sore knees would allow.

It seemed luck was finally on her side; no one appeared to be here this time. Unable to help a small sigh of relief, Sakura immediately stole to the fridge and pulled out an array of foods she planned on hoarding in her room for as long as possible. Just as she was laying everything out on the table for easy access, wondering how best to transport what she needed in only one trip to minimize potential exposure, footsteps drew near. She froze, hands shaking.

"Oh, it's you."

Sakura wasn't sure whether it was good or bad that her visitor was Deidara instead of Sasori. Truthfully, despite the events of the night prior, she felt incontestably safer around Sasori considering she'd survived this long in his company and not been turned into a puppet yet. Deidara, on the other hand, struck her as the unpredictable type ready to snap at the slightest provocation or even none at all. Where she could count on Sasori not to get scary as long as she didn't cross the line with him, Deidara was a disaster waiting to happen. It wasn't a matter of _if _with him, but _when. _Not to mention he was wearing his Akatsuki cloak, a friendly reminder that he was, in fact, the enemy.

_He doesn't know the extent of my injuries. If I can just keep cool, he won't give me any trouble. Sasori would kill him if he tried anything..._

That last thought was not nearly as comforting as it should have been, especially if she let her mind wander into the _why_.

"I was just leaving," she said, proud that her voice held firm even though the shaking in her hands would not completely go away despite her best efforts to squeeze the life out of a nearby potato.

"You keep squeezing that sucker and it's gonna pop, yeah."

Sakura pressed her lips together in a fine line. Something about Deidara, when she looked past the visage of the mad bomber and criminal, just irritated the hell out of her. His smarmy tone of voice was not helping matters.

"It's none of your business."

"Whatever." He walked into the kitchen, much to Sakura's dismay, and began eyeing the food she'd lain out. "You having a party or something?"

_Does this mean he's not in kill mode right now? _ Sakura wasn't sure how to react to this casual behavior. Deciding to play it safe, she was about to tell him that no, she was doing no such thing and excuse herself with an armful of food, appearances be damned. He took that time to pluck the potato she'd been mashing from between her fingers and place it safely out of her reach. He then settled down in a chair opposite where she stood and began pulling some food toward him.

"You're gonna get fat if you eat all this by yourself, yeah."

Sakura's mouth dropped in indignation, her pilfered potato and some of her prior caution forgotten in light of his crass demeanor. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he said through a mouthful of bread as he reached for the cheese wheel. "Hey, get a knife, will you? I can't cut this."

That was it. Sakura was unbelieving of what was coming out of this man's mouth. "I'm sorry, but do I look like your maid?"

Deidara frowned at her over a piece of jerky, swallowed, and leaned forward on his arms. "Listen, you're already up and not even eating anything. The faster you get the knife, the faster we can eat this. So what's it gonna be, smart ass?"

Sakura opened her mouth to contradict that, but closed it when she realized that it was a logical deduction, if not delivered in poor taste. Hm. "Fine. But only because I want some."

"Get some drinks while you're up."

Sakura bristled and considered chewing him out, but decided against it. _Unpredictable. Terrorist bomber. Sasori is not here to intervene. Stay calm. _

And that was how five minutes later Sakura and Deidara sat across the table from each other eating a meal meant for five or six people. Such was their hunger, potent enough to let them ignore their mutual animosity temporarily.

_Temporarily _being the operative word.

"So, are you like, sleeping with Sasori or something?"

And Sakura promptly spit out the cold pasta she'd been eating. "I—what are you—! I'm _not—"_

"Heh, guess he's gotta make do with what he's got, yeah."

Sakura slammed her fist on the table, now horribly embarrassed and _livid_. It shook with the force of her blow, making Deidara immediately zero in on her fist. "_Excuse you. _I can't believe you'd even insinuate—"

The cold look in his eyes cut her off rather abruptly, as though she'd been gripped by some invisible vise. Sakura unconsciously leaned back under the pressure of his piercing gaze. He looked almost angry.

"What're you really doing here?" he said, suddenly very serious. "What did you do to him?"

"I—What did _I _do? I killed him once, but I guess _that _wasn't enough now, was it? And then he came back and we fought Orochimaru and now I'm in his debt and you know what? I don't even _want_ to be here—"

Deidara stood suddenly, palms pressed flat against the table. "You fought Orochimaru with him?"

Sakura blinked, not having expected him to latch onto that bit. _Shit, _she thought as her gaze instinctively shifted to his lethal hands. "...Yeah. Why?"

Deidara's face scrunched up as a flurry of emotions colored his face and words escaped him. Taking a cue from Sakura, he slammed his own fist on the table and disturbed a fork, which clattered to the floor. "That piece of shit!"

Sakura's mouth hung open. She was fairly certain the "piece of shit" was not her, but she wouldn't give Deidara the benefit of the doubt. "Are you even listening? I didn't want any part of…of _this."_

As though drawn from some inner conflict, Deidara's icy blue eye snapped back to his dinner mate. "I mean, I know he's way paranoid, but if _you _hadn't come along then none of this would have happened. Now I'm stuck and he's got a free pass to fuck around—"

"I'm _really _getting tired of you thinking there's something going on between us—"

"—and we're supposed to do this together." Deidara scratched his head vigorously. "You're seriously in the way, yeah."

Sakura was red with rage. Never in her _life _had she been so personally furious with one single person the way she was now. She wasn't even quite sure what the hell they were talking about anymore.

"I'm gonna blow him up_,"_ Deidara announced, jamming a hand into the travel pouch at his hip. "See if he can come back to life _twice."_

"What? Hey, put that away," Sakura said, now worried. For herself, of course, not for Sasori.

"Oh yeah? What're you gonna do, make me?"

She brandished a fist out of habit, but the sound of clay squelching and reshaping with explosive chakra stayed her hand. This was _exactly _what she'd been wanting to avoid.

"I know you're weak from whatever Orochimaru and Kabuto gave you. Even if you weren't, I could kill you pretty quick, yeah," he said, his tone suddenly stony and cold.

That shocked her speechless, and suddenly the previous fear she'd felt snuck up on her, cackling and unrelenting. If he was really serious, she could not stop him. He might forcibly remove her, and then she _would _be dead. Sasori was nowhere to be found, and Deidara was halfway to molding enough C2 to blast half the castle into oblivion. Summoning what pathetic little remained of her courage and some chakra, Sakura channeled her rising panic and smashed a glowing fist against the wall near Deidara's head in a last-ditch effort. The cold-hardened stone cracked under her pseudo strength, tiny fissures spiderwebbing from the locus of impact. Deidara stared, wide-eyed, as pebbles clinked to the ground. They fell slowly at first, but larger chunks soon began to join them. After a moment, the thick stone wall between the hallway and kitchen bore a jagged dent about three feet in diameter.

Sakura had nearly forgotten about Deidara and her previous fear as she felt almost nothing. The ache was there, but it was nothing compared to the first few days. "The pain…!"

"Yeah, I bet that hurt, idiot."

"No, I mean, it doesn't hurt as much as before!" Sakura practically squealed at her fist.

Deidara gave her a weird look, and took the opportunity to take a few steps away from her. "Whatever. I'm gonna go blow up Sasori now—"

"I'd like to see you try."

Both Sakura and Deidara turned to see Sasori leaning against the doorway, looking lazy and calm as always if not for the way his honey eyes shifted carefully between Sakura's fist, the crater, and Deidara's incriminating palms.

Deidara frowned, all traces of his former bewilderment at Sakura's little stunt gone. "You know, things aren't like they used to be. And you're human now, yeah."

Sasori smirked and walked toward them. He paused to finger the fresh crack in the wall. "That's very true."

Sakura got a chill at the way he said that as he admired her handiwork, meager as it was compared to her full power. But the look in his eyes also bolstered her on some level, as though he was commending her in his own cryptic way.

"A lot has changed," Sasori added. "But...some things will remain as intended."

Deidara and Sasori exchanged a look that Sakura could only wonder about. There were secrets there, and despite the curiosity that seemed to haunt her like a second shadow whenever Sasori was concerned, something told her she should be thankful for her ignorance right now.

"I'm relieved to know I have a dedicated defender in you, Sakura," Sasori said, breaking the moment. "I'll sleep better now while Deidara's around."

If Sakura had a dollar for every time she'd felt terrified or embarrassed or both since she'd arrived, she was sure she'd be able to pay back all of Tsunade's accumulated debt by now. How did Sasori inspire that with just one look or a few choice words? Some part of her resigned to insanity wanted to ask, but the rest of her mortified self squashed that blasphemous thought before it could manifest in coherent speech. She made to deny that accusation in every way she could, but Sasori glided to the table still littered with foodstuffs. He bent to pick up the discarded fork.

"Well? You know I don't like eating alone," he said, taking a seat.

Deidara rolled his eye and marched back to his previously occupied seat. "Hey, that cheese is pretty good. How'd you get it all the way out here?"

"It's made here."

Deidara whistled. "Seriously? That maid chick you got must be pretty good."

"She's tolerable."

Deidara shrugged and piled his half-eaten plate with more food. Sakura watched, stunned at the sudden change in atmosphere when only moments before she'd been sure Deidara would pick a fight with Sasori and she'd get stuck in the middle of it. Their banal conversation now was perhaps most baffling; they seemed comfortable around each other despite the inherent divergence of opinion on just about everything under the sun.

_Now I _know _I'm dreaming._

"Sakura," Sasori called, seemingly uninterested.

But Sakura knew better. Thoughts of the previous night returned to her, and she was _really _not looking forward to what was shaping up to be an uncomfortable dinner for her. No matter what excuse she gave, she knew he'd shut it down with little effort and much seething. Deciding at least to save herself that much, Sakura walked over to the table. She briefly debated sitting next to Deidara, but thought better of it. When push came to shove, she would trust Sasori with her life over him any day. He'd done everything to convince her he valued it enough not to snuff it out at the slightest resistance on her part, and twice now Deidara had tried to blow her up in just twenty-four hours.

Sasori said nothing as Sakura slipped into the chair next to him and reclaimed her plate from before. He continued to say nothing when their hands brushed ever so briefly as they reached for the salt at the same time, and he let her use it first. Sakura, for her part, was initially content to remain silent lest he bring up the other night, but she began to get a little anxious as he all but ignored her in favor of conversing with Deidara every so often. It got to the point where she wondered if they were doing it on purpose, and she'd had enough of it. It was time for some answers.

"How long will Deidara be here?"

"As long as I want. Not that it's any of your business, yeah."

Sakura had never taken well to being spoken to so rudely, and she'd never had a problem reacting with equal rudeness if necessary. Sometimes, it was the only language pigheaded ninja understood. "You're an asshole."

"You wanna come over here and say that?" Deidara put down his spoon for emphasis.

"That's enough," Sasori said, although it came out sounding more like a death threat.

Sakura bit her tongue, but Deidara apparently had little fear for his safety around the redhead. "I can't believe you let her talk to you like that."

"She wasn't talking to me."

Deidara's blue eye narrowed and shifted between his two dinner mates, but he said nothing. Sakura wondered what he was thinking, and decided she didn't really want to know.

"By the way, she said something about fighting Orochimaru with you. Wanna tell me what that's about?"

"Not really."

"Why the hell not?"

"It's not important. Nothing's changed, in any case."

Deidara snorted. "So you lost."

"The battle ended prematurely," Sasori corrected, although Sakura thought she detected an edge to his voice that wasn't there before. "He escaped."

"Whatever. You promised we'd—"

"I don't make promises, Deidara. You know that well enough."

Sakura could not believe her ears. Why were they talking like this in front of her? Why were they talking at all? Why would Sasori associate with Akatsuki at all?

"If Deidara's Akatsuki and you're not, then why is he here?"

"That would require a longer explanation than I have the patience for."

"It's because you need me, yeah."

Sasori did not seem to like that comment. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Just making up for lost time."

Sakura was at her wit's end. A part of her almost wanted to cry at her inability to make them listen. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't really done much crying since Orochimaru's. Maybe she'd been too overwhelmed to remember that she was far from home in an unknown territory with unfriendly company.

"You can't do anything as you are, anyway," Sasori continued. "We already discussed this. It's not your debt to pay."

"Hey, this is about a lot more than some stupid debt, and you know it. I just need an out."

"There _is _no way out."

"You got out."

Sasori leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. Instinctively, Sakura's eyes fell to the spot on his chest where his heart lay beneath his thick sweater. She didn't know why exactly, but in that moment she found herself remembering that at one point, that was all Sasori had ever been—a heart.

_How terribly ironic._

"Come on, Sasori. There's gotta be a way," Deidara pressed. "I never wanted to be Akatsuki in the first place. Biggest waste of time ever, yeah."

"You don't want to be Akatsuki?" Sakura said.

Deidara looked at her like she'd grown another head. "Would you?"

She felt silly somehow. Never once had she stopped to question whether or not the members of Akatsuki actually wanted that kind of lifestyle. She'd just assumed that it was natural to want to be a part of a group of like-minded individuals, even if those individuals were all terrorists. And Deidara had seemed so _giddy _when she saw him in that cave so long ago, like he'd enjoyed every minute of taunting Naruto with Gaara's gruesome murder.

"No, but you seem like the type," she said.

He grinned. "No offense, I'm sure." Turning back to Sasori he said, "So?"

Sasori had a faraway look in his half-lidded eyes, as though he wasn't really seeing Deidara even as he answered the question. "The only way out is death."

No one said anything to this, and Sakura began to feel awkward again as memories of _that fight _replayed in her mind's eye like a monochrome horror flick. Even after all this time, it was one of her clearest recollections. Her battles were usually a whirl and color and wind with little time for deep reflection. This one, however, was branded upon her soul. Every detail, every slash and smash and the look in Sasori's glassy eyes that day when she eluded his every attempt to kill her had stayed with her, indelible even now. Seeing him now, she could have almost believed she was sitting next to a different person.

_He _is _a different person._ This man was not the same as the one she'd fought back then. He was more controlled, more mysterious in his ways, and he was more concerned with her now than he'd been then. Sakura instinctively lowered her eyes.

"Until then, you can make yourself useful."

Deidara looked thoughtful. "Yeah, whatever. Like I said, you need me."

"I could always kill you right now and free you from your misery."

Deidara waved him off, as though Sasori hadn't just threatened him with murder. "Anyway, I gotta say, some of the paintings in that hall upstairs are pretty offensive. Who the hell decorated this place, anyway?"

"Those are priceless works, you cretin."

"Oh, give me a break. You can't possibly consider _those _dusty old things art, yeah."

"I see our time apart has only made your taste even more atrocious."

Sakura spent the rest of that dinner listening to them argue about something upon which everyone present knew they would never ever agree. What was the point? And yet, they seemed content to debate the issue (if one could call the rather scathing exchange of insults and creative death threats something to be content about). When neither of them seemed very willing to do anything truly questionable—certainly throwing dinner knives with the intent to maim was no cause for concern—Sakura actually found herself relaxing a bit. She could taste her food and unclench her shoulders. She barely even thought twice about refilling everyone's glasses when they ran empty.

"But anyway, I have some things I gotta take care of. Later, yeah."

Deidara stood and excused himself, and Sasori let him go. It took Sakura a moment to realize she was alone with Sasori now, but she didn't feel as uncomfortable as she had all those long hours spent dreading this moment. Still, she was not about to give him an opportunity to corner her again, so she stood up.

"I think I'll turn in now, too."

The feel of long fingers closing around her wrist startled her, and she physically jumped. Sasori was staring at her entrapped hand, and she curled a fist out of habit.

"You're recovering more quickly than expected," he said, masking whatever opinion he might have on the subject. "You should be ready to travel before the end of the week."

Sakura stared, transfixed, as he rubbed a thumb over her knuckles. Irrationally, she wondered how he could bring himself to handle her greatest weapon so tenderly. She wondered why she let him, and decided that was not a question she wanted to answer right now.

"Why do you trust him?" she found herself asking. It was an easier question to voice than the thoughts swimming in her mind as she continued to stare at her hand in his.

Sasori didn't bother looking up at her, and for a moment Sakura wasn't sure if he'd grace her with an answer. He was stingy with his words. "What makes you think I trust him?"

"...He's Akatsuki, to state the obvious. You're not."

He said nothing to this, and Sakura continued, unsure if he saw that as a good enough reason. "He could blow up this place any minute and you know it."

"He won't."

He may as well have assured her that the sun would rise in the east tomorrow morning from how obvious he made it sound.

"There you go again making proclamations about him, like you're so sure one way or the other. If that's not some kind of trust, then I don't know what is. And it's weird because quite frankly, you're not the type to trust anyone."

That got his attention, and Sakura suddenly regretted her tone of voice as he fixed her with a bored stare that hid the promise of a rising temper. She'd seen him at his worst, and she was not in the mood to revisit that playground again. But he interrupted her before she could backpedal.

"You're not seeing this clearly. It's not trust, but a feeling of respect that keeps Deidara in line."

So maybe Sasori wasn't in the mood to get physically scary. She decided to push her luck a bit. "Then why help him? You could have told him to go screw himself, but you told him a way to get out of Akatsuki."

"I told him death was the only way out."

"That's still something coming from you."

When a smirk twitched his lips and he released her hand to stand up, Sakura couldn't figure out if she'd hit the jackpot or deathrow.

"Whether or not Deidara makes it out of Akatsuki isn't my concern. If anything, he can serve me better as a spy. However," he paused, making a point to peer down at her in that infuriatingly condescending way of his. "It would be in your best interests to reconcile with him."

"What? Why on earth would I do something like that?"

"Because he's a valuable ally to have."

"You cannot possibly be serious."

"This is much bigger than you and your issues with Deidara. Or do you disagree that Orochimaru is a more pressing concern for you personally? I could always return you to his care if that's what you want."

"N-No, of course not, it's just—"

"Then open your eyes. You're just another player in this game, and so is Deidara."

"So you are planning on going after Orochimaru again, aren't you?"

"Among other things."

"I never signed up for any of this!"

His eyes were trained on hers, their honeyed depths unreadable. "It's a bit late for that, and you made your choice already."

Sakura took note of his body language as he watched her carefully—too carefully. The goal was not to provoke him into something reminiscent of last night, but at the same time get as much information from him as possible. He seemed rather open at the moment, but one misstep and the thin ice she constantly trod around him could shatter beneath her step. Just being around him was enough to exhaust her to the point of madness, never knowing what was coming at her next.

_What are you hiding?_

"I can't go on like this," she said, averting her eyes.

"Like this?"

"Living one day to the next. At any minute you could change your mind about me." Biting the inside of her cheek in case her voice picked that time to betray her, she forced herself to meet Sasori's gaze once more. "I don't even know how I'm still here."

Silence stretched for a moment, and if Sakura hadn't known any better she'd swear he looked a little put off. But whatever she'd thought she'd seen was gone as soon as the thought crossed her mind. He had a tendency to trick her without even intending to. Or maybe it was his intention all along.

_Twisting and turning, get out of my head._

"What do you want to hear?" He almost sounded mean but not enough to make her want to turn around and run out the door. "Do you want me to tell you it's all going to be okay? That I'll protect you come hell or high water? Don't be so naive."

Somewhere in the middle of this escalating little speech, he'd started closing in on her until she was forced to back into the wall. "As if your demons are more terrifying than mine."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, anything at all, but words escaped her. Sasori looked pleased at her lack of response, making her skin crawl.

"You're conceited." His voice registered at a lower octave as though this were some great secret to which only the two of them were privy. "I'm not your white knight."

There was little time to be angry at what she suspected wasn't quite meant to be an insult as she tried to decide whether the twisting feeling in her stomach was a manifestation of her fear or something else entirely.

_Glowing threads jerk her skyward until she crashes down between steady arms and a warm body. Despite the claws of death and disease that try to rend her soul, she somehow knows she is safe now that he's come for her. Even the dragon's searing flame cannot cut through the soft, frigid darkness holding her too close, almost suffocating. And she wonders if she's truly saved at all._

Sakura blinked away the recurring nightmare fragment. "I never thought that, not once."

"Then tell me, what do you really want to hear?"

He made no move to invade her personal space the way he had last night. He didn't even reach for her, and she suddenly felt detached and alone despite their proximity. As she took in the man before her, her fears concerning Deidara seemed like a distant memory.

_Child's play._

If one could consider the imminent death by instantaneous immolation "child's play." And there it was.

"I want...you to tell me I can trust you."

"Trust." The word seemed to roll off his tongue like unripe fruit, sour and unwelcome.

"I can't take much more of this. You think I'm self-centered to worry like this, but I don't understand it. If I'm going to be risking my life and loyalties to repay you, I just need to know..." _I don't even know what._

"You don't need me to give you false promises, so don't ask for them. It's insulting."

"How can you—"

"I don't associate myself with the weak. And you, _Haruno Sakura,_ are not weak. Stop giving me reasons to think otherwise."

Sakura was taken aback by the sudden compliment. _No, not a compliment. There's always a motive with him. _With marked reluctance, she forced herself to dance around the issue that had been bothering her since the fight with Orochimaru and Kabuto. "...What am I to you?"

She held her breath as he seemed to think about this for a moment. Or maybe he was making her sweat on purpose. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she figured knowing couldn't possibly be worse than imagining...

"It's not what you are; it's what you'll become."

She got the sudden and inexplicable urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but refrained for the sake of self-preservation. He either didn't notice or didn't care.

"What will I become? What's coming?"

Sasori didn't answer, and Sakura was starting to get fed up with the mysteries surrounding him. For the first time in their acquaintance, she reached for him and fisted his shirt with both hands, pulling him close. "Tell me."

Sasori's hands snaked around her balled fists in a gentle but firm hold. He didn't attempt to extricate himself, though. "The finale."

"I never agreed to fighting your battles, especially not against Orochimaru again, so what are you planning?" Sakura pressed, drawing him nearer without meaning to. "Does this have something to do with you not wanting to control me?"

Something in Sasori's expression changed suddenly. Where before he was mostly content to hear her out, now he pried her fists out of his shirt and lowered her hands. "Everyone has a role to fill, including you. A game can't be won unless you play along. Losing this one is not an option."

_Riddle me this, riddle me that, _Sakura thought bitterly as he turned away from her.

"And Sakura," he called just as he paused in the doorway.

"What."

He shot her a bored look over his shoulder, and Sakura shivered. Bored was always dangerous on Akasuna no Sasori. "Don't let me catch you fighting with Deidara again."

He left her alone without another word. Despite his departure and her ensuing solitude, she could still feel his lingering warmth on her hands. Something was shifting, she could feel it in her bones, and somehow she wasn't as scared as she thought she'd be. If she was involved in a game with rules she didn't know, at least Sasori and Deidara were right there with her.


End file.
